The Columbus Dispatch | Catherine Candisky In southern Ohio’s Scioto County, ground zero for the state’s opioid crisis, 62 of every 1,000 Medicaid enrollees have been diagnosed with drug addiction, the highest rate in the state and up 148 percent since 2010. Statewide, the rate of dependence, abuse or overdose among those on Medicaid jumped

Newark Advocate A state audit of the village of Alexandria, released Tuesday, orders former fiscal officer Laura Vanscoy Andrews to repay the village $201,153 for checks written to herself, money stolen from deposits and payments lacking supporting documentation. Vanscoy Andrews, found guilty in November of theft in office, tampering with records, and dereliction of duty,

The Youngstown Vindicator | Ed Runyan The Ralph Infante corruption case has concluded, but Auditor of State Dave Yost, whose agency carried out most of the investigation, says, “Our work is not complete in the Mahoning Valley.” He made that comment when his office was asked last week about an insider remark that the Infante

cleveland.com | Cory Shaffer A former maintenance foreman at Strongsville City Schools faces felony charges Tuesday after officials said he used district money to buy equipment — including a $20,000 custom-built John Deere tractor and a tool shed — for himself over five years. Robert Schwerman used the school’s maintenance account to outfit his Lorain home

The Columbus Dispatch | Bennett Leckrone A Columbus home health-services provider owes more than $2 million after it billed the state for services it was not authorized to provide, according to the state auditor. America’s Home Health Services owes a total of $2.13 million, including interest, to the Ohio Department of Medicaid. The company billed

The Columbus Dispatch | Marty Schladen The state auditor’s office has determined that a Whitehall home health-care company improperly billed Medicaid for almost $1 million worth of services. Gardenia Home Health Care was paid $5.8 million between 2013 and 2015 by the Ohio Department of Medicaid, but only slightly more than half of the personal-care

The Columbus Dispatch | Marty Schladen A group of Ohio legislative leaders and the state auditor said Wednesday they don’t know if the companies that handle billions in state drug business have a duty to protect taxpayers. They called a press conference at the Statehouse to explain their plans to investigate whether Medicaid pharmacy contracts

The Columbus Dispatch | Bill Bush State Auditor Dave Yost says his probe into the Columbus Board of Education’s process of winnowing its list of superintendent candidates is aimed at determining whether the board made its decisions in public, or illegally “in the back room.” “What the end game looks like depends on what we

Dayton Daily News | Laura Bischoff Pointing to millions of dollars in unpaid debts owed by Medicaid providers, state Auditor Dave Yost says Ohio should require surety bonds so the state can more easily recover fraudulent or over payments. Former state auditor Betty Montgomery recommended a limited use of surety bonds — 12 years ago