James Comer is Chairman of the House Oversight Committee. | https://oversight.house.gov/chairman-james-comer/
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has requested information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding allegations that New York State has not complied with federal law in matching Medicaid funds. In a letter to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, Comer asked for a staff briefing on claims that New York has withheld Medicaid funds from local hospitals serving low-income populations to improve its own financial situation. He also called for formal clarification on how non-federal share funds should be sourced for the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments program.
“The Committee is concerned that the State, and likely other states too, are failing to follow federal law by misrepresenting the source of the non-federal share that the State is responsible for providing to trigger federal dollars under the Medicaid DSH program. Whistleblowers report that the State has concocted a scheme by which it has forced a safety net hospital to reimburse the State’s portion of the Medicaid match, despite telling the federal government the DSH funds had gone to the hospital. Reports on this scheme indicate that the State has engaged in this behavior for more than 20 years, costing taxpayers over $1 billion for one hospital alone, Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC),” wrote Chairman Comer.
The House Oversight Committee began its investigation into these allegations on July 2, 2025, when it sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul and her office. While some documents related to New York's Medicaid DSH program have been provided, many requests remain outstanding. This inquiry is part of a broader committee effort examining fraud in state and federal programs.
Earlier this month, on January 7, 2026, the committee held a hearing focused on widespread fraud in Minnesota’s social programs where an estimated $9 billion was stolen from taxpayers. The Subcommittee on Government Operations also met on January 13, 2026, to discuss new tools aimed at detecting and preventing improper or fraudulent payments across federal programs.
“After Article 78 lawsuits were filed on behalf of NUMC to re-coup funds improperly sent to the State via DSH intergovernmental transfers (IGT), reports have shown that New York’s legislature, at the direction of Governor Kathy Hochul, passed a budget with provisions allowing for a hostile takeover of the Nassau Healthcare Corporation (NHCC) Board, the parent entity of NUMC. This hostile takeover also removed control of the public benefit corporation hospital from Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman and the firing of NUMC CEO Meg Ryan and other top NUMC executives,” concluded Chairman Comer. “In February, four Members of Congress from New York wrote to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. and Acting Administrator for CMS Stephanie Carlton to bring attention to this issue. In their letter, lawmakers requested clarification on states’ obligations—including New York—to ensure timely and complete DSH payments to NUMC and other eligible hospitals and whether CMS has initiated a review into whether New York’s actions comply with federal statutes.”
A copy of Comer's letter can be found online.
