Several hospital staffers at the Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) have submitted their resignations effective in June amid investigations to examine if the State of New York has been defrauding Medicaid with what one lawmaker called “a large financial scheme” involving matching payments for hospitals totaling more than $1 billion.
The allegations that New York might be cheating Medicaid first surfaced a few months ago in civil litigation and in a New York Post column. State legislators increased pressure for an investigation and resolution, and staged a rally at the State Capitol.
Claims going back 20 years
A hospital staffer who had first-hand information but chose to remain anonymous told Just The News that the hospital completed an extensive review and assessment of all books and records last summer, and brought questions to an outside law firm.
The staffer said they received a legal opinion and, after reviewing documents filed by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) to CMS in June 2024, they learned that NYS [New York state] halved the hospital’s DSH [Disproportionate Share Hospital] funding year after year for two decades. Allegedly, more than one billion dollars were steered away from NUMC.
They said they spent over a decade working with New York state for over a decade and neither the NYSDOH nor the governor’s office have accepted initiatives to meet with them over the past three years.
In December 2024, it was reported by The New York Post that NUMC was suing New York for $1.06 billion, alleging the state has defrauded the hospital of financial resources over the past 20 years.
The staffer told Just the News that 80% of patients at the NUMC are ensured by Medicaid and Medicare. NUMC is the only public hospital in the county, and a large percentage of its 275,000 patients are low income, uninsured, as well as on Medicare and Medicaid. The hospital includes a nursing home and jail infirmary, Long Island’s only burn unit and its largest inpatient psychiatric treatment center.
A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office has denied these allegations, stating that they are “false claims.”
Hellbound and Down 