BILL NUMBER: S5329E
SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law and the social services law, in
relation to the functions of the Medicaid inspector general with respect
to audit and review of medical assistance program funds and requiring
notice of certain investigations
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To provide due process protections to health care providers and recipi-
ents in the medical assistance program when under scrutiny by the Office
of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG).
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Public Health Law § 30,-a by adding new subdivisions,
which defines various terms including "abuse", "creditable allegations
of fraud", "fraud"," medical assistance", "overpayment" and " provider".
§ 2 amends Public Health Law § 32 subdivision 20 to make clear that the
Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) must act consistently
with all applicable state and federal laws, regulations, policies,
guidelines, and standards.
§ 3 adds two new sections to the Public Health Law, § 37 and § 38. 37
addresses audit and recovery of medical assistance to providers. 38
addresses procedures, practices and standards for recipients.
§ 4 amends Social Services Law § 363-d (3) (c) to require OMIG to notify
a provider if the provider's compliance program is not satisfactory, and
to allow the provider 60 days to submit a proposal for a satisfactory
compliance program. It also adds a new subdivision 8 to the section to
require OMIG regulations, determinations, or findings relating to a
compliance program to be consistent with subdivision 3. § 5 adds a new
subsection 6-b to Public Health Law § 32, requiring OMIG to consult with
the Commissioner of Health on preparing and filing an annual report by
the Commissioner on the impacts that all civil and administrative
enforcement actions taken in the previous year have had and will have on
the quality and availability of medical care and services, the best
interests of the medical assistance program and its recipients, and the
fiscal solvency of the providers subject to these actions.
§ 6 is the effective date which is thirty days after enactment.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
When the OMIG was created in 2007, the emphasis of the legislature and
the concern of the public was on fraud and waste in the Medicaid system.
Experience with the law has made it clear that the current statute is
missing key provisions necessary to assure fairness and procedural clar-
ity for all the parties involved, including the personnel of the OMIG.
OMIG audits that punish providers for technical errors- not fraud- do
not help anyone in the Medicaid system, especially when those errors are
the result of contradictory guidance provided by different state agen-
cies. OMIG's practice of extrapolating millions of dollars of claims
from a small sample of technical errors has been forcing already
stretched-thin health care providers (especially in the behavioral
health system) to close, which ultimately harms patients. New York's
patients cannot afford to lose any more behavioral health providers,
especially over unintentional administrative errors.
This bill addresses due process for Medicaid beneficiaries who deserve
advance notice of any investigations and details about what exactly is
being investigated. These beneficiaries deserve to know their rights
before OMIG makes any recoveries or enforcement actions against them.
These common-sense requirements are necessary to protect vulnerable New
Yorkers from OMIG actions that adversely impact the provision of
services to vulnerable New Yorkers.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022: S4486B/A7889A - Vetoed Memo. 89
2024: Amended Sec. 1 Part 8 to reference federal law
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become a law.

Statutes affected:
S5329: 30-a public health law, 32 public health law, 32(20) public health law
S5329A: 30-a public health law, 32 public health law, 32(20) public health law
S5329B: 30-a public health law, 32 public health law, 32(20) public health law
S5329C: 30-a public health law, 32 public health law, 32(20) public health law
S5329D: 30-a public health law, 32 public health law, 32(20) public health law
S5329E: 30-a public health law, 32 public health law, 32(20) public health law