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Ohio Attorney Claims Medicaid Fraud Similar to Minnesota Has Been Occurring for YearsAn Ohio attorney says Medicaid fraud similar to the schemes uncovered in Minnesota has been happening in Ohio for more than a decade, according to a report by Fox News.Attorney Mehek Cooke alleges that individuals—many of whom she identifies as members of Ohio’s Somali community—have exploited loopholes in the state’s Medicaid home-care programs, which can pay up to $91,000 per year per recipient for in-home care of elderly or infirm family members.Cooke claims the system is vulnerable because doctors allegedly approve claims without proper medical assessments, sometimes approving individuals as severely disabled who later appear active on social media. She also alleges that some doctors may be receiving kickbacks for approving fraudulent claims.According to Cooke, the scheme typically involves family members becoming paid caregivers for relatives who do not actually require the level of care being billed to Medicaid. She says individuals are sometimes coached to exaggerate or falsify symptoms in order to qualify.Cooke described Ohio’s Medicaid system as “the easiest in the Midwest to game” and said what has been uncovered in Minnesota represents only a small portion of similar abuse occurring in other states.While Cooke identifies specific communities as being involved in some cases, she says the primary fault lies with the system itself, citing a lack of independent medical evaluations and insufficient oversight by state Medicaid agencies.Cooke is calling for statewide audits of Medicaid programs, arguing that Ohio taxpayers and the broader public are being harmed by unchecked fraud and misuse of public funds.