October 27, 2023

I just posted the following information on my LinkedIn profile.  Please join me on LinkedIn and repost.  We need a robust effort to push this boulder up the hill!

On behalf of the Board of Directors and 130 members of the NYS Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, and the 50+ associations and coalitions that are working together to ensure balance, fairness and increased transparency for providers undergoing a Medicaid audit conducted by the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG), I want to thank the members of the NYS Bar Association for inviting me yesterday to address the members of the Health Law Section. Together we reviewed critical elements of A6813/S5329A, our OMIG Audit Reform bill that would prohibit audit tactics that punish Medicaid providers who have not engaged in any type of fraud and abuse but who instead have made technical (human) errors that can result in crippling fines with tactics designed to claw back funds in service to the state budget. I focused on the significant negative consequences on providers resulting from what we believe to be an unreasonable audit process. Let’s be clear – we stand behind OMIG in its ongoing efforts to root out fraud and abuse. But we also believe that NYS must look elsewhere for the funds OMIG continues to recover from safety net providers who have delivered a service but who have not engaged in any type of illegal activity. Please join us in the fight to bring balance and fairness to the Medicaid audit process. For more information call me at 518 461-8200.