![Senator Headshot](/sites/default/files/styles/4_3_small/public/02-10-15_official_hs_omara-hs-040_0.jpg?itok=gJ9N77KJ)
TAXPAYERS BEWARE
Thomas F. O'Mara
February 23, 2015
![](/sites/default/files/styles/760x377/public/800-586-11A_25_0.jpg?itok=UOtc1jpz)
A mid-January report from the state comptroller’s office found that the state Department of Health (DOH) wrongly paid more than 29,000 pharmacy claims, worth nearly $1 million, for thousands of Medicaid recipients already covered by managed care plans.
And just last week, a second comptroller’s report found that the DOH failed to collect an estimated $120 million in available rebates from prescription drug makers.
These are the findings that drive state taxpayers crazy.
For more than a decade, various reports have highlighted wasteful Medicaid spending. Time and again, New York’s system has been characterized as one of the nation's most expensive and wasteful, continually plagued by rip-offs and scams.
Ten years ago, Medicaid spending was roughly $42 billion annually. Now, the cost is about to increase to $60 a year.
Share this Article or Press Release
Newsroom
Go to Newsroom!["These new laws have continued to strengthen the foundation we’ve built over the past several years to place New York State at the forefront of a new, potentially billion-dollar industry," said Senator O'Mara, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.](/sites/default/files/styles/760x377/public/article/main-image/hemp-industrial-farming_newweb_0.jpg?itok=wDyPICb-)
![“It’s the least we can do for our volunteer firefighters and their families,” said Senator O'Mara.](/sites/default/files/styles/760x377/public/article/main-image/emergencyservices_newweb.jpg?itok=2-X-yJvF)
![Senator O'Mara has sponsored numerous meetings and forums on the future of rural public transportation, including one with Senator Jim Seward (r.) in Cooperstown in 2015.](/sites/default/files/styles/760x377/public/article/main-image/cooperstownforum-candid2_0.jpg?itok=IyAKze9O)