WCDO Radio News

Animal Adventure in Harpursville
announced today that the Baby Giraffe born on March 16th has been named
"Azizi” out of pool of 20 names to choose from.  The 2nd round of online voting has concluded
& Proceeds from the naming contest will support the Cheetah Conservation
Fund, the park’s annual Ava’s Little Heroes fundraiser and Animal Adventure
Park

State Leaders announced an agreement on the State Budget,
which holds spending growth at 2% and cuts taxes for the middle class, Governor
Cuomo commented Sunday:

(Cuomo 4-1-19)

The 175.2 Billion dollar budget includes the permanent 2%
property tax cap,  Education funding
totals $27.9 billion; and State Medicaid/Health Spending: $19.6 billion; 3.6
percent growth.

State Attorney General Letitia James announced that New York
has joined with other states and the federal government to reach an agreement
with Walgreens, to settle allegations that Walgreens violated the False Claims
Act by billing Medicaid at rates higher than its usual and customary rates for
certain prescription drugs.  Walgreens
will pay New York State 14.5 Million dollars to the states' Medicaid program.

Governor Cuomo & area leaders announced the start of construction on the $20.5 million Canal Plaza with 48 apartments and new commercial space to Binghamton's North Side. The project will transform and revitalize land that is currently a brownfield; it will include 3 commercial suites totaling about 15,000 square feet, 1 of which will be occupied by Catholic Charities of Broome County for the operation of Encompass Health Home, which will deliver assistance to Medicaid-eligible adults and children with chronic medical and/ or behavioral health conditions. The project will be partially funded with $1.1 million in Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery funding from the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery.

Some individuals on Medicaid receiving treatment for opioid use disorder might have received opioid prescriptions outside of their treatment programs, according to an audit issued by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Auditors examined state Department of Health records from 2013 to Sept. 3th 2017 and identified 18,786 Medicaid recipients who received 208,198 prescriptions for opioids through Medicaid while also receiving opioids such as methadone, as part of a treatment program for opioid use disorder. DiNapoli recommended the Department of Health develop a report that can be used to notify treatment programs when I-STOP indicates recipients are receiving dangerous prescriptions; & to take steps to ensure Medicaid managed care organizations require reviews prior to dispensing opioids to recipients with opioid use disorder. The report is available at osc.state.ny.us/audits.

The state Department of Health billed drug companies for $425.9 million in Medicaid drug rebates after auditors alerted the department to rebates it missed out on, according to a report released today by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Auditors determined that, with the inception of Health and Recovery Plans, The Department of Health did not take appropriate steps to ensure that Health and Recovery Plans-related drugs were identified and processed for rebate invoicing, erroneously excluding those drugs due to inadequate monitoring of the rebate process. Rebates were not invoiced and collected from manufacturers until after auditors informed Health Department officials of the errors.

The state Department of Health paid $1.28 billion in unnecessary Medicaid managed care premiums over a nearly six-year period for enrollees who already had private insurance, according to an audit by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. About $70.6 million of the premiums were paid to MCOs that were related through some form of ownership to the 3rd-party insurer. DiNapoli recommended DOH: Improve monitoring efforts to prevent and recover the premiums; Implement controls to remove those recipients with 3rd-party health insurance; & Review the managed care premiums, and recover unnecessary payments. The report is available at osc.state.ny.us.

The Arc Otsego, in partnership with Family Resource Network will be hosting a Family Forum presented by LIFEPlan CCO today from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Pm at the Holiday Inn Oneonta. The Forum will include a presentation by LIFEPlan CCO on how Medicaid Service Coordination will transition to Care Coordination on July 1st, & what individuals and families need to know about the CCO and enrollment process. Agency staff will be on hand to answer any questions; more information is available at 433-8417.

NY State of Health today announced that more than 4.3 million New Yorkers have enrolled in health coverage. The 2018 Open Enrollment Period finished with nearly 1 million people combined enrolled in a Qualified Health Plan and the Essential Plan, an increase of 84,000 since the end of open enrollment in 2017. More than 1.36 million people enrolled in a non-Medicaid program through the Marketplace and, 2,965,863 people enrolled in Medicaid through the Marketplace.

NY State of Health officials announced that enrollment continues to increase as consumers approach the important December 15th deadline to enroll for coverage that starts January 1st. the Customer Service Center has answered more than 865,000 calls since November 1st - up 180,000 calls since last reported. Website and call volumes are expected to increase as the December 15th deadline approaches. Open Enrollment in a Qualified Health Plan continues through January 31st, 2018. Enrollment in the Essential Plan, Medicaid and Child Health Plus is open all year.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced today the sentencing in Broome County Court of Kenneth Cohn, Sharon Cohn, the owners of Yellow Medi-Van and Taxi, Inc., for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in Medicaid funds and knowingly operating transportation services without Worker's Compensation insurance. The Cohns forfeited and released $455,604 currently being withheld by the State Department of Health, to the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The Cohns also agreed to pay $50,000 each in restitution, Kenneth Cohn was sentenced to 5 years' probation, and Sharon Cohn was sentenced to 1-year conditional discharge.

New York State received only 84 cents back for every dollar that it sent in taxes to the federal government in 2016, according to State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. New York received $55 billion in Social Security payments, $47 billion for Medicare and more than $46 billion for Medicaid plus Billions of federal dollars for transportation, education and veterans benefits programs. New Yorkers paid almost $255 billion in taxes to the federal government. DiNapoli’s report stated that most states received $1.18 back for every $1.00 sent to Washington.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that New York has agreed in principle to join a state-federal $465 million settlement with Mylan Inc. New York led a coalition of states in the investigation that resolved allegations that Mylan knowingly underpaid rebates owed to Medicaid for the drugs EpiPen® and EpiPen Jr.® that were dispensed to Medicaid beneficiaries. Under the settlement, New York will receive $38.5 million.

Governor Cuomo announced a program to provide no-cost or lower-cost naloxone at pharmacies across New York. Beginning tomorrow, individuals with prescription health insurance coverage, including Medicaid and Medicare, will receive up to $40 in co-payment assistance, Uninsured individuals and individuals without prescription coverage will still be able to receive naloxone at no cost through a network of registered opioid overdose prevention programs. More information is available at health.ny.gov/overdose.

New York State’s Medicaid system could have saved up to $13.6 million it spent on patients with severe kidney disease whose expenses could have been covered by the federal Medicare program, according to an audit by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Auditors also identified 15 Medicaid providers who were charged with or found guilty of crimes that violated the laws or regulations of a health care program. Auditors also identified three providers who were involved in civil settlements that involved health care-related matters. DOH terminated 15 of them from the Medicaid program.

Governor Cuomo today directed the State Department of Financial Services to promote new emergency regulations mandating health insurance providers do not discriminate against New Yorkers with pre-existing conditions or based on age or gender, in addition to safeguarding the 10 categories of protections guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act. The Department of Health will ban all insurers who withdraw from offering Qualified Health Plans on the State Health Marketplace from any Health related program, including Medicaid, Child Health Plus, and the Essential Plan. The Governor will also direct state agencies and authorities to ban insurers who withdraw from the State Health Marketplace from contracting with the state.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer stopped at UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich this morning, to announce his plans to present legislation to permanently install the Medicaid Dependant Hospitals program and the Low Volume programs that are currently set to expire on September 30th.

(Schumer 4-10-17)

UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital is a recipient of both programs and would loose $1.8 million dollars annually & over 20 Million dollars in future years, if those 2 programs are not be renewed. The hospital has an annual budget of $65,000,000, 44% of their patients are on Medicaid, and about 50 patients a day use the Emergency room.

Governor Cuomo endorsed the "Empire State Equity Act," federal legislation that would deliver property tax relief to New Yorkers by increasing federal funding for New York's Medicaid program. New York is a "donor state" that contributes as much as $30 billion more to the federal budget in taxes than it receives back in services. This bill will help level the playing field and provide New York with an additional $2.3 billion in Medicaid funds, which the state will use to eliminate the local share of Medicaid for any county that agrees to lower local property taxes by an equal amount, thereby passing 100 percent of their savings to their taxpayers.

Governor Cuomo & State health officials held a press conference this morning,  blasting Congressman  Chris Collins of Buffalo and area congressman John Faso for supporting the House Republican health care bill and the push to have the state assume county Medicaid costs.

(Cuomo 3-21-17)

The Governor stated that over 4 years New York State would lose $4.6 billion and lose at least $2.4 billion a year by fiscal year 2020. The Collins-Faso amendment would stop the counties from paying a share of Medicaid, which would cost upstate counties is 2.3 Billion Dollars.

Governor Cuomo was one of 6 governors who did not attend a governors meeting with President Trump this week, where the President told the governors that federal aid to the states for Medicaid would be cut. Cuomo had a private meeting with trump in New York City on January 18th.

State tax collections through the first three quarters of the fiscal year are down, According to State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. The decline was 2.2% or around $1.2 billion, which is about $30 million lower than mid-year projections. DiNapoli’s report showed that there was Significant increases in spending for Medicaid and other public health programs.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the guilty plea of 44 year old Darin Cox of Johnson City, who is the owner and operator of Broome Taxi, for his fraudulent actions in obtaining over $3,000 from the Medicaid system by operating his business without the licensing necessary to operate a taxicab in Broome County. Cox pleaded guilty to 1 count of Grand Larceny, he faces a sentence of up to 7 years in prison.

New York state’s Medicaid system made approximately $6.8 million in inappropriate payments, including $3.5 million for separately billed medical services that should have been covered by managed care plans, according to an audit released by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Additionally, auditors identified 15 Medicaid providers who were charged with or found guilty of crimes that violated the laws or regulations of a health care program. So far, about $2.4 million of the overpayments were recovered. The report is available at osc.state.ny.us/audits.

The state Department of Health overpaid managed care organizations nearly $19 million for the state fiscal year 2014-15, in part, because of a flaw in how it calculated premiums, according to an audit from State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Auditors warned that another $56.8 million was at risk of overpayment over the next three years due to the flaw. Additionally, DiNapoli’s auditors found the Department Of Health is missing out on millions in annual savings through reforms recommended by the state’s Medicaid Redesign Team. The department also failed to collect $38.6 million in actuarial costs, incurred since 2009, from managed care organizations. Officials agreed with DiNapoli's findings & have agreed to make corrections.

New York state’s Medicaid system made as much as $12.1 million in inappropriate payments during 2015, including $2.3 million for dead patients and millions more for recipients who had been dropped from long term care coverage, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. By the end of audit fieldwork, about $2.1 million of the overpayments were recovered. DiNapoli made 11 recommendations to DOH to recover the remaining inappropriate Medicaid payments and improve claims processing controls, they agreed with the audit recommendations and indicated that certain actions have been and will be taken to address them. The report can be accessed at osc.state.ny.us.

Governor Cuomo today announced the award of $6,081,700 to help 122 behavioral health providers that offer children’s services improve or develop their technological infrastructure or update their Medicaid billing infrastructure. In the Southern Tier organizations will receive $548,350, those included in the funding are: Catholic Charities of Broome County, Chenango County Mental Health & Delaware County Department of Mental Health

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today announced that New York, and other States, reached an agreement to settle allegations against Wyeth, & Pfizer, to resolve allegations that Wyeth knowingly underpaid rebates owed under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program for the sales of Protonix Oral and Protonix IV between 2001 and 2006. Wyeth agreed to pay $784.6 million to the United States and the States. About $93.7 million of the settlement will resolve claims relating to New York’s Medicaid program, with the state receiving $55.6 million and the Federal government receiving $38.1 million.

Delhi police arrested 55 year old Ernest Orts of Herkimer & 53 year old Ralph Reid of Florida were charged with grand larceny and falsifying business records, following an investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the state Attorney General's Office. Orts and Reid are accused of making false entries and adjustments to account ledgers between 2006 and 2012 while operating the Countryside Care Center in Delhi. The pair were arraigned at the Delhi Town Court and released on their own recognizance.

New York State of Health is encouraging uninsured New Yorkers to enroll in a plan by January 31st. More than 2.7 million people are enrolled in health insurance through NY State of Health, including 1.9 million enrolled in Medicaid, and 827,000 enrolled in non-Medicaid coverage. Consumers who do not enroll in a QHP by January 31 will be unable to enroll in a QHP for the remainder of 2016 unless they have a qualifying “life event” such as marriage, losing employer coverage or, under a new law that takes effect this year, they become pregnant. Enrollment in Medicaid, Child Health Plus and the Essential Plan, which is new in 2016 for lower income New Yorkers, is open all year.

A new state law that went into effect in the New Year will provide expanded access to health care by providing for the delivery of services via telehealth under Medicaid coverage and private insurance parity. 2 other new laws include dentists and physical and occupational therapists within the covered telehealth services under Medicaid. These practitioners would then be able to provide services from a distant location to benefit the patient where and when they need it most.

The State Assembly Task Force on the Heroin crisis held their 6th forum in Binghamton this week, local assemblyman Cliff crouch serves on that task force. Crouch told WCDO News that law enforcement officials testified that more has to be done from outside law enforcement:

(Crouch 10-22-15)

Crouch also said that part of the problem is that insurance and Medicaid covers 3 days of coverage after an overdose, which usually needs 7 days to get passed the high pain levels of withdrawal from heroin.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today announced the arrests of 68-year-old Kenneth Cohn and his wife, 64-year-old Sharon Cohn of Binghamton, for allegedly violating the Workers’ Compensation law and illegally obtaining over $1 million from the Medicaid system. while owning & operating Yellow Medi-Van and Taxi, Incorporated. The Cohns were charged with Grand Larceny, Offering a False Instrument for Filing among other charges, they were arraigned in Binghamton City Court.