RALEIGH, N.C. — Last year, North Carolina spent about $10 billion on taxpayer-funded Medicaid claims, covering everything from doctors’ bills to mental health care for low-income residents. Spotting scams in all that money has been difficult, until now.

With help from IBM, the state has a new tool to crack down on fraudulent claims, which experts say could make up as much as 2 percent or $200 million each year.