Portal:Outsourcing America Exposed/Featured Profile

Maximus CEO Richard Montoni
MAXIMUS, Inc., based in Reston, Virginia, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:MMS), for-profit corporation that receives government contracts to provide "business process services" to government health and human services agencies in the United States and abroad. The company focuses primarily on operating government-sponsored programs for vulnerable populations, such as Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicaid, Medicare, welfare-to-work, and child support services.

The chief executive officer of Maximus is Richard Montoni. Montoni received $16,194,847 in total compensation from 2008 to 2012, according to Morningstar, making him “America's Highest Paid Caseworker.” Maximus' top executives are making a fortune off of vulnerable populations as well; they received cumulative compensation of $41,808,585 over the same period.

“The outsourcing of health and human services operations to private for-profit firms raises significant concerns for sick or at-risk populations who depend on them, as well as for taxpayers who all too often foot the bill for substandard service,” said Lisa Graves Executive Director of the Center for Media and Democracy.

In 2004, the state of Wisconsin entered into a contract with Maximus to ensure the state received as much federal funding as possible for a mental health program serving young people, and paid Maximus a contingency fee for all the Medicaid money it garnered for the state. In September 2013, a federal audit charged that the state, acting on Maximus’ advice, engaged in improper billing and as a result the state may have to return some or all of the funding it received. Wisconsin improperly claimed $19 for every $20 reported and now taxpayers may be on the hook for tens of millions.

That was not the first time Maximus landed in hot water for improper billing. In July 2007, Maximus, Inc. agreed to pay $30.5 million to settle a criminal investigation regarding falsified Medicaid claims. The federal government alleged that Maximus colluded with the District of Columbia’s Child and Family Services Agency to help it falsify claims to Medicaid for services provided to children in DC’s foster care program.

CMD will continue to profile some of the other CEOs who are living large off the taxpayer dime this month. The effort is part of our ongoing project, OutsourcingAmericaExposed.org, which focuses on the 12 firms doing the most to privatize public services.

Learn more about Maximus at our SourceWatch profile. Follow the conversation at #OutsourcingAmerica.