Senate Schedules First Public Hearing On Medicaid Fraud

Albany, N.Y.-- State Senator George H. Winner, Jr. (R-C, Elmira) today said that the New York State Senate Task Force on Medicaid Reform will begin a series of statewide public hearings on Medicaid fraud with a forum at the state capital on Wednesday, September 21st.

The hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. in Hearing Room A of the Legislative Office Building in Albany.

The Senate hearings come in the wake of published reports in the New York Times earlier this year that revealed the findings of a yearlong investigation the paper conducted into fraud in New York State’s Medicaid program. The Times reported that Medicaid fraud costs state taxpayers billions of dollars annually and brought into question the state’s efforts to detect and investigate the abuses. New York was ranked as one of the most least effective states in combating fraud.

"We’ll be holding these public hearings now to ensure that we keep building the momentum for aggressive action against the Medicaid rip-offs and scams that are crimes against local property taxpayers and undermine the quality of health care statewide," said Winner, a member of the Senate Health Committee.

Earlier this year the Senate approved legislation Winner co-sponsored to create a new, independent Medicaid Inspector General to restructure and streamline practices to detect, investigate and prosecute Medicaid fraud and waste -- a responsibility currently divided between the state Health Department and Attorney General. While the Assembly didn’t act on the legislation before the end of the 2005 legislative session, Governor George Pataki subsequently announced that he would create the new Medicaid watchdog by executive order.

Winner said that a Medicaid Inspector General could potentially save taxpayers billions of dollars and serve to improve the accountability, integrity and quality of the Medicaid program. He added that he and his Senate colleagues will monitor the implementation of the new office and, through the upcoming public hearings, explore additional strategies to overhaul Medicaid oversight in New York. The Senate’s statewide hearings will solicit input from experts in the Medicaid, health care and law enforcement fields. The task force will also look at what other states are doing to combat fraud, and what Washington is doing to address Medicaid fraud at the federal level.

Winner noted that the 2005-06 state budget included the beginnings of comprehensive Medicaid reform in New York State, including a cap on local Medicaid costs that will take effect early next year, but that inaction on widespread fraud and abuse threatens future efforts to further remove the financial burden the program places on counties and local property taxpayers.

"We made some real Medicaid reform progress this session for our counties and local property taxpayers. But we risk throwing it all away if we don’t act against what is clearly rampant abuse, fraud and waste in New York State’s Medicaid system," said Winner.

Additional hearing dates and times will be announced as they are scheduled.