New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today the following audits and examinations have been issued:

Office of General Services (OGS): Business Services Center Shared Services (2016-S-16)

The state’s 2012-13 budget established the Business Services Center within OGS as a centralized office for processing human resources and finance transactions that are common across state agencies. Auditors found the center has improved the consistency and efficiency of certain services it provides to its customers. Procurement card rebates have increased by over $4 million, and interest paid by the state has decreased by $350,000 since fiscal year 2013-14. Also, the center estimates it has reduced staffing costs for administering these services by $34 million annually.

Department of Health (DOH) Medicaid Payments Made Pursuant to Medicare Part C (Follow-Up) (2016-F-16)

An audit released in May 2014 found the state’s Medicaid program did not have limitations on the amounts it paid for Part C cost-sharing liabilities and could have saved up to $69 million if it limited payments of Medicare Part C cost-sharing liabilities. The audit also identified several scenarios under which Medicare Part C cost-sharing liabilities were improperly paid. In a follow-up report, auditors found DOH officials made progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit report. This included developing controls to limit the amounts paid for Medicare Part C cost-sharing liabilities and controls to prevent concurrent payments of Medicaid Advantage premiums and Medicare cost-sharing liabilities on behalf of the same recipient. However, further actions were still needed.

Department of Health (DOH): Overpayments to Managed Care Organizations and Hospitals for Low Birth Weight Newborns (Follow-Up) (2016-F-8)<

An audit issued in October 2014 identified about $13.9 million in inappropriate or potentially inappropriate Medicaid payments for low birth weight infants that did not meet billing requirements as well as overpayments due to duplicate fee-for-service and managed care claims. At the time the initial audit’s fieldwork concluded, auditors recovered over $7 million of the overpayments identified. In a follow-up, auditors found DOH officials made significant progress implementing the recommendations made in the initial audit report. This included recovering another $2 million in overpayments that were identified in the initial report and strengthening controls that prevented $13 million in improper claims.

Empire State Development Corp. (ESD): Oversight of International Offices (Follow-up) (2016-F-1)

An initial audit report, issued in June 2013, examined whether ESD monitors the effectiveness of its international offices and manages payments to foreign representatives to ensure they are made only for authorized contract purposes. Auditors concluded that, while ESD had made significant improvements in managing payments to foreign offices, it did not have an appropriate performance monitoring system in place to evaluate foreign offices’activities against contract requirements. In a follow-up, auditors found ESD made some progress in addressing the issues identified in the initial audit report; however, further action is needed.

State Education Department: HTA of New York Inc., Compliance with the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2016-S-36)

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014, auditors identified $28,952 in ineligible costs that HTA reported for state reimbursement, including $22,207 in other than personal service costs, and $6,745 in personal service costs, which consisted of $4,065 in unsupported staff time, $1,546 in employee compensation that was reported as more than one full-time equivalent and $1,134 in other non-reimbursable costs.

Office of Information Technology Services (ITS): Security and Effectiveness of Department of Motor Vehicles’(DMV) Licensing and Registration Systems (Follow-Up) (2016-F-15)

An audit report issued in September 2014 found that ITS and DMV were not in compliance with security standards that govern the systems that process credit card transactions. Auditors also found ITS did not comply with state cybersecurity policies and did not establish adequate processes for managing user access of DMV systems. In a follow up, auditors found DMV officials have made some progress in correcting the problems identified in the initial report. However, improvements are still needed. Of the five prior audit recommendations, two recommendations have been implemented and three recommendations have been partially implemented.

For access to state and local government spending and more than 50,000 state contracts, visit www.openbooknewyork.com. The easy-to-use website was created by DiNapoli to promote openness in government and provide taxpayers with better access to the financial workings of government.