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

Department of Health (DOH) Improper Fee-for-Service (FFS) Payments for Services Covered by Managed Care (Follow-Up) (2020-F-8)

A prior audit identified over $36 million in improper Medicaid FFS payments for services that should have been covered by the recipients’ managed care plans. In a follow-up audit, auditors found DOH made some progress in addressing the problems identified. However, auditors still identified nearly $7 million in new improper payments.

Department of Health: Improper Payments for Sexual and Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Drugs, Procedures, and Supplies Provided to Medicaid Recipients, Including Sex Offenders (Follow-Up) (2020-F-15)

An audit released in June 2019 identified $933,594 in improper payments for drugs, procedures and supplies to treat ED. Of that amount, Medicaid paid $63,301 for 47 sex offenders. Medicaid also made payments of $13.5 million for ED drugs that are approved to also treat other medical conditions. About $11.6 million of the $13.5 million in payments were made without verifying recipient sex offender status through DOH’s system, as required — consequently, auditors found Medicaid paid $285,641 on behalf of 14 sex offenders. In a follow-up, auditors found DOH made some progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit report; however, more improvements are needed.

Department of Health: Medicaid Program – Improper Medicaid Payments for Individuals Receiving Hospice Services Covered by Medicare (2018-S-71)

Auditors identified about $50 million in actual and potential Medicaid overpayments, cost-savings opportunities, and questionable payments for services provided to certain patients enrolled in Medicare-covered hospice. Among the cost savings, auditors recommended DOH review the $5.9 million in actual and potential overpayments and ensure proper recoveries are made. They also recommended DOH improve controls to prevent improper payments in the future. Another $39.8 million was identified as questionable because these expenses may have been eligible for coverage by Medicare.

Homes and Community Renewal – Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR): Administration of Mitchell-Lama Waiting Lists (Follow-Up) (2020-F-19)

An initial report issued in August 2017 found that DHCR needed to improve its monitoring of the Mitchell-Lama developments to ensure that affordable units were awarded in compliance with New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. In a follow-up, auditors found DHCR has made some progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit report.

Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV): Enforcement of Article 19-A of the Vehicle and Traffic Law (Follow-Up) (2020-F-6)

An audit issued in February 2019 identified deficiencies in DMV’s policies and procedures that could result in motor carriers operating out of compliance with requirements for school bus drivers with the associated risk that under or unqualified drivers were operating vehicles and potentially jeopardizing safety. In a follow-up, auditors found DMV has implemented four of the five recommendations from the initial audit report, and has partially implemented one recommendation.

New York State Health Insurance Program: CVS Health – Accuracy of Drug Rebate Revenue Remitted to the Department of Civil Service (Follow-Up) (2020-F-24)

An audit issued in June 2019 found that CVS Health did not always invoice drug manufacturers for all rebates, collect all rebates from the manufacturers, or remit all rebate revenue to Civil Service. As a result, Civil Service was due $2,240,798 in rebates. In a follow-up, auditors found CVS Health addressed most of the problems identified in the initial audit.

Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA): Use of Vendor-Supported Technology (Follow-Up) (2020-F-28)

An initial audit determined that NFTA maintained its technology systems at vendor-supported levels. However, auditors identified unsupported systems used on 66 devices. NFTA officials did not develop policies and procedures to ensure that their systems were regularly reviewed and kept up to date, nor did they maintain a single clear inventory of IT assets to aid in tracking their systems. In a follow-up, auditors found NFTA officials have made significant progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit.

Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA): Compliance With Executive Order 95 (Open Data) (2020-S-36)

ORDA did not begin to take steps to meet the requirements of EO 95 until after auditors started their work. Prior to the audit, ORDA did not have any data items published to Open Data. In addition, it did not designate a data coordinator, complete a comprehensive catalogue of publishable data, submit a master schedule of publishable datasets or incorporate Open Data into its ongoing core business planning and strategies. However, since then, ORDA has taken steps to comply with EO 95.

Research Foundation of the State University of New York (SUNY): Technology Transfer Program and Royalty Payments (Follow-Up) (2020-F-32)

An audit issued in January 2020, found that the Research Foundation had taken steps to protect SUNY’s interest in the transfer of technology and royalties for projects developed at SUNY schools, but had not developed monitoring to determine whether licensees was accurately reporting net sales and paying the full royalty owed. Additionally, SUNY Downstate had accumulated $1,019,390 in campus royalty revenues, none of which had been reinvested to support SUNY research programs. In a follow-up, auditors found Research Foundation officials have made progress in addressing the findings identified in the initial report.

Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA): Compliance With Requirements to Maintain Systems at Vendor-Supported Levels (Follow-Up) (2020-F-30)

An initial report found that RGRTA maintained its technology systems at vendor-supported levels. However, auditors did identify unsupported systems used on 14 devices. Additionally, RGRTA had not developed policies and procedures to ensure that its systems were regularly reviewed and kept up to date. In a follow-up, auditors found RGRTA made significant progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit.

State Education Department (SED): Oversight of School Safety Planning Requirements (Follow-Up) (2020-F-17)

An initial audit determined SED was not sufficiently monitoring school districts’ compliance with the requirements for school safety planning, and did not have assurance that the requirements were being met. In a follow-up, auditors found SED has made significant progress in addressing school safety issues. 

Find out how your government money is spent at Open Book New York. Track municipal spending, the state's 180,000 contracts, billions in state payments and public authority data. Visit the Reading Room for contract FOIL requests, bid protest decisions and commonly requested data.