The Auditor of State's Office released a report on Tuesday detailing costs and dangers of noncompliance in Ohio's Medicaid Program.

The report highlights the costs and dangers citizens face when Medicaid providers disregard the regulations put in place to prevent fraud and inadequate care.

A Mahoning County business was singled out in that report.

According to the Auditor's Office, during an examination of medical record transportation, Angel Carriers LLC had multiple problems with its service records. 

Managers of the company told audit staff that a fire destroyed the records that were needed for the 2016 examination. Officials say the auditor's office determined the fire was limited to a garage and didn't damage the office where the records were allegedly kept. 

The auditor's office says managers at the company then claimed the records were actually destroyed when the building was demolished.

After auditors issued a draft report, the company quickly retracted their story and said they did have the records, according to the report.

According to the auditor's office, when they received the needed records from Angel Carriers LLC, officials found 252 errors.

Those errors included 116 patient transports that did not have documents to back them up for payments or services. 

Auditors say the errors in service documentation, along with other areas added up to $458,083 in overpayments, almost 98 percent of the amount paid to the provider. 

In the past seven years, the Auditor of State's Office says they have performed compliance examinations of 133 Medicaid providers, flagging $33.3 million in improper payments and calculating an additional $2.4 million in interest.

The office says the payments typically result from providers charging for care they are not certified to provide or for services that lack supporting documentation.

The report released on Tuesday is part of Auditor Yost's efforts to create a culture of accountability in state and local government. Those efforts include work on Senate Bill 218, introduced by Senator Peggy Lehner, to target providers that are at the greatest risk for improper billings.

The bill would require these types of providers to obtain surety bonds that would help the state recover losses caused by fraud and improper payments.

Officials at the Auditor's office say Indiana, Texas, Florida and New York use a similar approach to this issue.

"Make no mistake, transportation and home health providers deliver critical services that countless Ohioans rely on every single day, but limited safeguards for these fields have given rise to widespread abuse and improper billing costing tens of millions of dollars," Auditor Yost said.