Free Republic

An audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found multiple issues with how the state identified out-of-state Medicaid members, and found close to $1.2 billion in managed care premiums that were paid for members who may have resided outside of New York. Auditors found that the state Department of Health (DOH) did not properly check to confirm that Medicaid members were New York residents and waited too long to recoup improper payments. “Medicaid is a vital program and the single biggest expense in the state budget. We cannot afford any wasteful spending,” DiNapoli said. “If a person is...

ALBANY, Feb. 8 — Pity the New York State lawmaker, if only for a moment. For years, the state’s senators and Assembly members have been widely tarred as barely competent time-servers, hostage to their all-powerful leadership and resistant to change. Two years ago, a study deemed New York’s the most dysfunctional state legislature in the entire country. Last month, a panel that was asked to pick finalists for the vacant state comptroller’s office passed over several Assembly members angling for the job, suggesting they were unqualified. For a crowd where aspirations to higher office are common, it was the last...