Sweeney & Skelos Announce Federal Audit Of Nys Department Of Health’s Medicaid Fraud Prevention Program

R-Clifton Park) and New York State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) today announced that, at their request, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has decided to conduct a Program Integrity Review of the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Medicaid Management.

“This is an important step forward to ensure that the people in New York State who most need the resources provided by Medicaid receive them,” Sweeney said. “In an extremely tight budget climate, it’s more important than ever that we maximize the dollars we have. New York State taxpayers absorb a heavy burden at all levels to ensure that those who cannot afford proper care receive it. I applaud CMS for taking decisive action to ensure that all that can be done to root out fraud in the Medicaid program ensuring limited dollars are spent wisely.”

“As the State Senate continues its Medicaid fraud hearings to determine the level of fraud occurring in New York State and the best means of combating it, this Review will provide invaluable information about the Department of Health’s fraud prevention efforts,” said Senator Skelos. “I thank the federal government for their responsiveness and Congressman Sweeney for tirelessly working to make sure the requested audits became a reality.”

CMS has scheduled a Program Integrity review of New York's Medicaid agency for November 2005. The review will take approximately four days. CMS’ draft report will be sent to the State for comment; the State will have 30 days to respond. The final report will be sent to the New York Regional Office for clearance. A final report should be completed by about the beginning of next year.

At approximately the same time, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General's final report on the State Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (“MFCU”) located within the State Attorney General's Office is expected to be completed. On July 19th, Sweeney and Skelos requested both audits to examine the State's utilization of over $93 million in federal Medicaid fraud prevention funding.

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