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NEWS from the Office of the New York State Comptroller
Contact: Press Office 518-474-4015

State Comptroller DiNapoli Releases State Audits

October 4, 2016

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

State Education Department (SED): Selected Aspects of the Migrant Education Program (Follow-Up) (2016-F-9)

An audit report issued in May 2015 determined that the Migrant Education Program did not meet certain program outcomes and overarching program goals. SED did not complete federally required documents in a timely manner; and a significant portion of the Migrant Education Tutorial Services faced challenges obtaining migrant student performance data. In a follow-up report, auditors found SED has made significant progress in correcting the problems identified in the initial report. Several of the strategies the program plans to implement are scheduled to begin with the 2016-2017 school year.

State Education Department: Kidz Therapy Services, PLLC, Compliance with the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2015-S-63)

For the three fiscal years ended June 30, 2014, auditors identified $249,850 in reported costs that did not comply with the state requirements for reimbursement and recommend such costs be disallowed. These ineligible costs included $240,553 in personal service costs and $9,297 in other than personal service costs.

Department of Health (DOH): Improper Fee-for-Service Payments for Pharmacy Services Covered by Managed Care (Follow-Up) (2016-F-5)

An audit issued in January 2015 determined that, for the 27-month period of Oct. 1, 2011 through Dec. 31, 2013, Medicaid inappropriately paid 29,289 fee-for-services pharmacy claims totaling $978,251 on behalf of 18,010 Medicaid recipients whose pharmacy benefits were covered by managed care. In a follow-up report, auditors determined DOH has made some progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit report. However, further actions are still needed.

Department of Health: Improper Payments for Controlled Substances That Exceed Allowed Dispensing Limits (Follow-Up) (2016-F-6)

An audit report issued in February 2015, determined that, for the period Jan. 1, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2013, Medicaid overpaid pharmacies $1,183,601 for 13,705 fee-for-service claims in which quantities of controlled substances exceeded the supply limits allowed. Auditors further identified 3,323 managed care claims for controlled substances in which the quantities dispensed exceeded the limits set by law. In a follow-up report, auditors found DOH has made progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit report. This included implementing controls to prevent the payment of pharmacy claims for quantities of controlled substances that exceeded supply limits. These actions resulted in the denial of approximately $3.3 million in claims through July 2016.

Department of Labor (DOL): Examination of Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefits 2015 Year End Report (2016-BSE4-01)

Auditors identified 11,306 UI overpayments totaling more than $3.6 million. This includes $93,760 in current payment requests stopped, $280,276 in future payments that would have been made over the life of the claim and $3,311,848 in erroneous payments made. Based on the errors identified, DOL assessed $471,458 in monetary penalties to 344 claimants. Auditors also identified 588 underpayments totaling $105,744. DOL has recovered $253,968 in forfeited UI benefits from claimants who made false statements or representations to obtain benefits they were not eligible to receive and $488,138 from New York state employees who owed DOL for UI overpayments made in prior years.