The director of New York’s Medicaid program declined to commit to handing over assessment reports of the state’s fraud risk levels to Congress, more than three months after the congressional committee investigating its program controls requested the records.“New York has failed to provide certain information responsive to the committee’s letter,” Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said at a hearing Thursday examining oversight deficiencies in state-administered Medicaid systems.In a March 3 letter addressed to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and New York State Health Department Commissioner James McDonald, the committee demanded documents on corrective actions that state officials are taking to strengthen program integrity.
“Why have you been unable to provide that information to the committee?” Guthrie asked Amir Bassiri, the Medicaid director for the New York State Department of Health.“We have been as responsive as we can,” Bassiri told Guthrie during witness questioning.Bassiri mentioned that New York has been handling “many” inquiries from Guthrie’s committee, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the inspector general’s office within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
