The state Department of Health (DOH) made $965 million in payments to providers, including facilities, for services ordered, prescribed, referred, and attended by practitioners who were not enrolled in the health care program, including those who had been barred due to misconduct, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Two other audits released today found an additional $17 million in overpayments.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today the following audits have been issued.

Tax collections for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2021-22 totaled $121.1 billion — $3.3 billion higher than forecast by the Division of the Budget (DOB) in the Amended Executive Budget financial plan released in February, and more than $30 billion higher than DOB’s initial forecasts from May 2021, according to the March State Cash Report released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

"The passing of the state budget is welcome news. While jobs are rebounding in many industries, our economic recovery lags the nation, and risks have expanded as the budget process has unfolded, with growing geopolitical uncertainty surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and persistently high inflation. In addition, New Yorkers continue to grapple with the health, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic.

An independent fiduciary and conflict of interest review of the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund), released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, commended the Comptroller and Fund staff for holding “themselves to the highest ethical, professional and conflict of interest standards” and for being “well-prepared for the challenges that the [COVID-19] pandemic posed.” The review was conducted by Kroll LLC.

Too many of New York school districts’ mental health teams are understaffed, with too few available services and inconsistent and limited oversight of mental health education for students, an audit by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued the following statement today regarding the Legislature's passage of an extender bill to fund state operations:

"The passage of a budget extender bill will ensure that more than 60,000 state employees will be paid this week. However, since the extender was passed after the time in which OSC indicated it must be done to avoid any disruptions, there may be a delay and employees on the institutional payroll should watch closely."

In February, the Office of the State Comptroller approved 1,465 contracts for state agencies and public authorities valued at $1.4 billion and approved more than 2.9 million payments worth nearly $10 billion. The office rejected 121 contracts and related transactions valued at $206.2 million and nearly 7,000 payments valued at more than $23.1 million, primarily for mistakes, insufficient support for charges, and improper payments. More information on these contracts and payments is available at Open Book New York.

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, sole trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund), today announced that he has directed divestment from Russian companies and continued his prohibition of any further investments in them.