How NC failed to protect millions Cardinal spent on big payouts, parties

Long before Cardinal Innovations came under scrutiny this year for using taxpayer money for high-priced parties and retreats, chartered flights and pay bonuses, North Carolina officials had been warned that they needed to look into spending at the agency.

A 2012 audit recommended that the state Department of Health and Human Services thoroughly examine finances at Cardinal and other managed care organizations in North Carolina that receive hundreds of millions dollars a year to coordinate Medicaid services for people with physical disabilities, mental health issues and drug addiction.

But DHHS – which oversees Medicaid spending in North Carolina – took no significant steps to address investigators’ concerns, State Auditor Beth Wood told the Observer.

The inaction, Wood said, paved the way for Cardinal to boost its CEO’s pay to $635,000 – about three times higher than the state limit – and hand out more than $4 million in bonuses to employees.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article189764604.html