Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Eligibility for Health Insurance Coverage

Roswell Park Cancer Institute is a public benefit corporation that investigates the cause, treatment, prevention and cure for cancer and related diseases. The Institute operates a public hospital and medical research center in Buffalo. The Institute participates in the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP), which provides health insurance coverage to active and retired State and local government employees and their dependents.

We examined the Institute’s practices for enrolling individuals and their dependents in NYSHIP, and found that the Institute was only enrolling people who met the eligibility requirements. However, we determined that the Institute was not always obtaining sufficient documentation from its employees to demonstrate that individuals being enrolled as dependents qualified for this coverage under State rules. We also found that the Institute incorrectly paid more than $185,000 in health insurance premiums for nine individuals after their employment had ended. We recommended that the Institute recover the overpayments, monitor future payments more closely, and make certain improvements in its practices for enrolling dependents in NYSHIP.

For a complete copy of Report 2008-S-53 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.