June 17, 2009

Weitzman’s efforts on behalf of Nassau County result in State Comptroller’s audit of New York State Health Insurance Plan

Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman said State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s planned audit of the New York State Health Insurance Plan (NYSHIP) is good news for Nassau’s taxpayers. The state audit will focus on the insurance plan’s premium setting process and management of surplus reserves, a review that Weitzman has been calling for since 2008 when he and County Executive Thomas Suozzi released a report showing that NYSHIP was over-collecting premiums from local governments and had accumulated an excessive $540 million on top of statutory reserves.

"NYSHIP needs to operate with more transparency, allowing state and participating agencies to access data,” said Weitzman. “Comptroller DiNapoli’s audit will be a good first step towards that transparency. In addition, I continue to  recommend that the state engage an independent expert in  health care finance to review the NYSHIP plan.”

State Comptroller DiNapoli stated in a May 28 letter to Mr. Weitzman: “From the report that you and County Executive Suozzi issued last fall, finding that NYSHIP has overcharged public employers more than $540 million since 2002, to your recent analysis establishing that NYSHIP had overcharged Nassau County nearly $389,000 in premiums over a nine-year period, the need for an audit is clear.”

Following the County’s report last fall, the State agreed with the findings and applied some of the excessive premium to keep the 2009 rate increase low. This effort saved Nassau County taxpayers approximately $11 million in health insurance premiums for 2009 and approximately $116 million for local schools and governments in Nassau County. Comptroller Weitzman and the County Executive continue to work to recoup a portion of the excess NYSHIP premiums charged in prior years – an amount equal to $540 million state-wide and $21 million for Nassau County, that could made as a one month premium holiday for all NYSHIP participants.

Recently Comptroller Weitzman received an appointment to the New York State Health Insurance Program Participating Agency Advisory Council (PAAC). Nassau County is the largest local government participating agency in NYSHIP and prior to his appointment, no one from Nassau County had served on the board.