BILL NUMBER:S594

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the public health law, in relation to authorizing any
prosecutor of competent jurisdiction to receive referrals from certain
agencies

PURPOSE:
To amend the Public Health Law, in relation to authorizing
any prosecutor of competent jurisdiction to receive referrals from
certain agencies.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends Subdivision 7 of section 32 of the public health law
to allow for Office of Medicaid Inspector General to refer suspected
fraud or criminality to any prosecutor of competent jurisdiction.

Section 2. effective date

JUSTIFICATION:
Approximately two years ago the Office of the Medicaid
Inspector General (OMIG) entered into a memorandum of understanding
with the Nassau County Department of Social Service (DSS) which
allowed DSS to investigate Medicaid provider fraud and keep the
              

county share of any recovery in exchange for working under the
supervision and control of the OMIG. The Demonstration Project, as it
is known, requires DSS to seek the OMIG's approval before starting a
Medicaid provider investigation, requires OMIG's approval of the
investigation plan, and requires DSS to turn the entire investigation
over to OMIG if any fraud is found. Once the investigation is turned
over, OMIG will review DSS's efforts, conduct any further
investigation that it deems necessary and, if the OMIG is satisfied
conduct exists, turn over the file to the Attorney General's Medicaid
Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). The MFCU that covers Nassau County is
based in Hauppauge.

This Demonstration Project working in conjunction OMIG's statute, has
created a bureaucratic chain whereby Nassau DSS is supervised by an
entity in Albany, sends its completed investigations to Albany, and
then the case travels to MFCU in Hauppauge. Meanwhile the Prosecutors
in the Nassau County District Attorney's office, sitting a mere three
miles away from the investigators at DSS, are prohibited from
offering their assistance. It is inexplicable that the county
district attorney is barred from prosecuting crimes that take place
with in the county and were investigated by a county agency.

This legislation would easily fix the problem referenced above by
amending the OMIG's statute to allow the agency to make referrals to
both the Attorney General and "any prosecutor of competent
jurisdiction."

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2009-2010: Referred to Health (S.4774/A.10047)


FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Due to an increase in efficiency in prosecuting
Medicaid Fraud there is an estimated increase in revenue to the state

EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.