Senator Fuschillo Announces That Local Savings From State Medicaid Reforms Higher Than Anticipated
Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (8th Senate District) announced today that the Medicaid reforms he supported to reduce local property taxes have resulted in significantly higher savings than anticipated. Nassau and Suffolk Counties are now expected to receive approximately $180 million in combined savings from New York State through calendar year 2007.
"The State Legislature enacted significant reforms to Medicaid over the last two years to help alleviate the financial burden on local governments and reduce property taxes for homeowners," said Senator Fuschillo. "These reforms, which included a cap on costs to local governments, new accountability standards, and a preferred drug list, have generated far more savings than we expected. I urge Nassau and Suffolk Counties to pass these additional savings on to taxpayers."
New estimates are that Nassau and Suffolk Counties will receive an additional $46 million in combined Medicaid savings for calendar years 2006 and 2007. These funds are on top of the over $134 million the two counties were projected to receive in combined savings over the same time period. Nassau and Suffolk Counties already realized a combined $6.45 million in savings in calendar year 2005, when these reforms first took effect.
All told, Nassau and Suffolk Counties are now expected to receive a combined savings of approximately $180 million from New York State through calendar year 2007 as a result of the Medicaid reforms. These savings from New York State will help to provide financial relief to homeowners by significantly reducing costs to the Counties’ budgets, which are funded through local property taxes.
In addition, the Legislature enacted a plan, supported by Senator Fuschillo, to combat Medicaid fraud and create a Medicaid Inspector General earlier this year. The anti-fraud plan, which is the most comprehensive in the nation, fights fraud and abuse at every step of the process, from billing and pre-payment review to investigation, civil recovery and criminal prosecution of Medicaid thieves. The plan could save taxpayers billions of dollars that are lost through fraud.
In 2004, the State also began a takeover of the local share of the Family Health Plus program to provide additional savings to local governments and property taxpayers.
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