DAY SAYS WOLFE MUST BE DELUSIONAL TO TAKE CREDIT FOR COUNTY’S FIGHT AGAINST MEDICAID FRAUD

During this budget season, Rockland County Democrats have been anxious to point out that in last year’s (2016) proposed budget County Executive Ed Day included the elimination of two detectives dedicated to investigating Medicaid Fraud. The Legislature reinstated them in their revised budget.

It was announced during the course of 2016 that Medicaid costs have been cut $4 million due to better enforcement of rules and regulations. Democrats have tied that savings to their decision to reinstate the two investigators in the budget. It was again the subject of conversation in Alden Wolfe’s Voice of the Legislative Majority this week.

Day says Wolfe’s claims are “nonsense” and “totally false.”

He said the vast majority of the savings realized by the county came through the ramped up “front-end” efforts of his administration. He said the Department of Social Services is doing a better job screening Medicaid applicants, thus avoiding giving away money in the first place. He also noted that his 2016 budget only proposed eliminating two Medicaid detectives, not several.

Day said law enforcement can only save taxpayers so much money and the problem needs to be first caught in the net of administrators. Before getting arrested crooks still end up on Medicaid rolls for years, investigators salaries are relatively high and reimbursement for criminal Medicaid fraud cases goes mostly to the state, he pointed out.

Day said Wolfe is trying to take credit for his administration’s accomplishment.