Senate Bill S4774

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S4774

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the public health law, in relation
to authorizing any prosecutor of competent jurisdiction to receive
referrals from certain agencies

 PURPOSE : To amend the Public Health Law, in relation to authorizing
any prosecutor of competent jurisdiction to receive referrals from
certain agencies

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS : Section I. Amends Subdivision 7 of section 32
of the public health law to allow for Office of Medicaid Inspector
General to refer suspected fraud or criminality to any prosecutor of
competent jurisdiction.

Section 2. Is the effective date

 JUSTIFICATION : Approximately two years ago the Office of the
Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) entered into a memorandum of
understanding with the Nassau County Department of Social Service
(DSS) which allowed DSS to investigate Medicaid provider fraud and
keep the county share of any recovery in exchange for working under
the supervision and control of the OMIG. The Demonstration Project, as
it is known, requires DSS to seek the OMIG's approval before starting
a Medicaid provider investigation, requires OMIG's approval of the
investigation plan, and requires DSS to turn the entire investigation
              

over to OMIG if any fraud is found. Once the investigation is turned
over, OMIG will review DSS's efforts, conduct any further
investigation that it deems necessary and, if the OMIG is satisfied
conduct exists, turn over the file to the Attorney General's Medicaid
Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). The MFCU that covers Nassau County is based
in Hauppauge.

This Demonstration Project working in conjunction OMIG's statute, has
created a bureaucratic chain whereby Nassau DSS is supervised by an
entity in Albany, sends its completed investigations to Albany, and
then the case travels to MFCU in Hauppauge. Meanwhile the Prosecutors
in the Nassau County District Attorney's office, sitting a mere three
miles away from the investigators at DSS, are prohibited from offering
their assistance. It is inexplicable that the county district attorney
is barred from prosecuting crimes that take place with in the county
and were investigated by a county agency.

This legislation would easily fix the problem referenced above by
amending the OMIG's statute to allow the agency to make referrals to
both the Attorney General and "any prosecutor of competent
jurisdiction."

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY : New Bill

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS : Due to an increase in efficiency in prosecuting
Medicaid Fraud there is an estimated increase in revenue to the state

 EFFECTIVE DATE : Immediately