Over $3.2B saved and recovered last year by New York Medicaid program

Acting Medicaid Inspector General Frank Walsh said on Monday that more than $3 billion was either prevented from being spent or recovered as a result of measures taken in the state’s Medicaid program in the previous year to reduce instances of waste and fraud.

Walsh said that savings of 714 million dollars were discovered via audits and inquiries of several providers. The efforts that were made to eliminate needless expenses, such as incorrect billings, resulted in savings of more than $2.4 billion. In all, over the course of the last four years, efforts to reduce costs and recover funds have yielded a combined total of $11.8 billion.

The Medicaid program in the state is the most expensive in the whole nation and the most expensive item in the state. It is a common place to look for ways to slow or stop the growth of the state’s budget, which is now more than 200 billion dollars.

“In 2021, OMIG fulfilled its mission to protect the integrity of the Medicaid program by generating nearly $3.2 billion in Medicaid recoveries and cost savings that are critical to sustaining New York’s health care delivery system,” Walsh said. “At the same time, the agency continued to adapt procedures to avoid imposing burdens on health care providers and recipients and maintain access to essential health services.”