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Meetings

Health: Jan 31, 2012

Calendars

Active List: Feb 13, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 6, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 7, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Feb 13, 2012

Votes

Memo

BILL NUMBER:S6271

TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to directing the Medicaid inspector general to publish in electronic form, all administrative law decisions resulting from an appeal of an action by his or her office

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: Provides for public notification of administrative law decisions concerning appeals from actions by the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Adds a new subdivision, 6-a to section 32 of the Public Health Law. This new subdivision requires electronic publication of all administrative law decisions stemming from an action by the office. These decisions must be posted on the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General's website within thirty days of the decision.

JUSTIFICATION: Statute charges the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) with weeding out fraud, waste and abuse in New York's Medicaid Program. Through this charge, OMIG conducts audits, reports incidents of fraud to prosecutors, and excludes certain providers from participating in Medicaid. These actions all can have an adverse impact on Medicaid providers and recipients. Thus, due process rights of these individuals must be protected.

Anyone wishing to appeal a decision by OMIG must go before an administrative law judge. However, interested groups expressed concern because, although a public record, these decisions are difficult to access. Presently, each interested group must send a FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) request to OMIG. This is a duplicative and burdensome process for both OMIG and individual requesters. For efficiency and transparency, this bill requires OMIG to post all administrative law decisions, in which OMIG is a party, to its website within thirty days.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________

6271

IN SENATE

January 18, 2012
___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  HANNON,  BONACIC,  DeFRANCISCO,  GOLDEN,  LITTLE,
  MARTINS -- read twice and ordered printed,  and  when  printed  to  be
  committed to the Committee on Health

AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public health law, in relation to directing the
  Medicaid inspector general to publish in electronic form, all adminis-
  trative law decisions resulting from an appeal of an action by his  or
  her office

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 32 of the public health law is amended by adding  a
new subdivision 6-a to read as follows:
  6-A.  TO MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC, IN ELECTRONIC FORM, AND PUBLISH
ON THE OFFICE'S INTERNET WEBSITE, THE FINDINGS  OF  EACH  ADMINISTRATIVE
LAW  DECISION  RESULTING  FROM  AN  APPEAL  OF  AN  ACTION BY THE OFFICE
CONDUCTED PURSUANT TO THIS TITLE. SUCH FINDINGS SHALL BE MADE  AVAILABLE
AND PUBLISHED WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF THEIR ISSUANCE.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD13984-02-2