The federal government has reached a deal with the Cuomo administration that dramatically slashes Medicaid payments to state centers that provide services to developmentally disabled people, The Post has learned.
Under the agreement approved by the feds, Medicaid payments will fall to $1,200 per resident per day from more than $5,100.
The new rates comes on the heels of a scathing report by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Report last fall that charged New York overbilled Medicaid by a staggering $15 billion over a 20-year period for services to the developmentally disabled.
The House Oversight Committee said today the new rates will save taxpayers $1.2 billion over the next 18 months.
“This is a step in the right direction, but HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) needs to pursue recovery of the decades of overpayments and guarantee an end to all similar overpayments,” said Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Ca.).
The overpayments occurred before Andrew Cuomo’s tenure as governor. The feds approved a payment restructuring plan submitted by state Medicaid Director Jason Helgerson.
“The new rates are expected to reasonably reflect the level of cost incurred by state facilities to provide services to Medicaid eligible individuals,” said Cindy Mann, federal director of the Center for Medicaid Services.
Gov. Cuomo acknowledged the anticipated cut in federal reimbursements earlier this year and trimmed $120 million in state funding for services for the developmentally disabled from his proposed budget. He and lawmakers ultimately cut $90 million in the budget for the fiscal year that began today.
“Changes to New York’s Medicaid spending plan were included in this year’s budget in order to resolve this issue, which predates this administration,” said Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Gov. Cuomo. “We are now able to move forward and focus on making sure as many resources as possible are directed toward treatment and services, and away from excessive administration costs and executive compensation.”
Gov. Cuomo acknowledged the anticipated cut in federal reimbursements earlier this year and trimmed $120 million in state funding for services for the developmentally disabled from his proposed budget. He and lawmakers ultimately cut $90 million in the budget for the fiscal year that began today.