WCDO Radio News

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has completed a study of the $277 billion Enacted Budget for the current State Fiscal Year, which has an increase of 7% from the previous State Budget. DiNapoli's report stated the largest increases in spending have been in Medicaid and School Aid, other potential issues are the the retrenchment of federal support; persistent inflation and increasing local government fiscal needs, also the state took action to preserve healthcare coverage for over a million New Yorkers, but that still resulted in 450,000 New Yorkers losing eligibility. The state has significantly increased its reserve levels at approximately $15 billion.

35 Year old Ciera Washington of the Bronx pleaded guilty in US District Court to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and aggravated identity theft. Washington admitted that from April 2023 through October 2024, she worked with 2 others to steal the personal information of Medicaid beneficiaries and use that information to fraudulently obtain prescription medications from pharmacies throughout New York State & the Northeastern States, which caused a loss of nearly $4 million to the Medicaid program and tens of thousands of dollars to pharmacies. Washington agreed to forfeit over $400,000 in proceeds from her crimes and to consent to an order of restitution for the losses they caused. Washington faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment on the fraud count and a mandatory term of 2 years on the aggravated identity theft count, which must run consecutively, when sentenced in October in Federal Court, She also faces a term of supervised release of up to 3 years.

New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a coalition of 36 other attorneys general and the U.S. Department of Justice in securing $36.5 million from CVS Pharmacy, for fraudulently over-billing Medicaid for insulin prescriptions. From 2010 to 2020, CVS knowingly dispensed more insulin to customers than they needed while maintaining that they were reporting the correct amount of insulin in their prescriptions. The fraudulent claims allowed the company to rake in millions in extra reimbursements from Medicaid for insulin distribution. CVS will pay more than $25 million to state Medicaid programs across the country, including $2.25 million to New York.