IN RE: RELIANCE AMBULETTE (2020)

Determination of respondent New York State Department of Health, dated August 23, 2016, which affirmed a determination of the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG), after a hearing, that petitioner received overpayments of Medicaid reimbursements totaling $2,659,293.15, unanimously confirmed, the petition denied, and the proceeding brought pursuant to CPLR article 78 (transferred to this Court by order of the Supreme Court, New York County [Lynn R. Kotler, J.], entered August 14, 2017), unanimously dismissed, without costs.

Substantial evidence supports OMIG's determination that petitioner received overpayments of Medicaid reimbursements for claims where petitioner's drivers were either not licensed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), or had missing or inaccurate information in their claims (see generally 300 Gramatan Ave. Assoc. v. State Div. of Human Rights, 45 N.Y.2d 176, 180–181, 408 N.Y.S.2d 54, 379 N.E.2d 1183 [1978]).  OMIG correctly determined that 18 NYCRR 505.10 requires both ambulette owners and drivers who provide services in the City of New York to be licensed by the TLC in order to receive reimbursement (see Department of Social Services Regulations [18 NYCRR] § 505.10[e][6][ii] ).

The parties' communications and the conduct described in the final OMIG report provided petitioner with sufficient notice of the charges, and petitioner thus had an adequate opportunity to prepare its defense (see generally Matter of Franklin St. Realty Corp. v. NYC Envtl. Control Bd., 164 A.D.3d 19, 24–25, 83 N.Y.S.3d 41 [1st Dept. 2018], affd 34 N.Y.3d 600, 122 N.Y.S.3d 567, 145 N.E.3d 204, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 08976 [2019]).  Moreover, petitioner did not preserve its claim that respondent's audit was unduly burdensome, and, in any event, it did not demonstrate that it was precluded thereby from complying with the audit or that the administrative delay required annulment of OMIG's determination (see Matter of Clearview Ctr., Inc. v. New York State Off. of the Medicaid Inspector Gen., 172 A.D.3d 1582, 1586–1588, 100 N.Y.S.3d 724 [3d Dept. 2019]).

We have considered petitioner's remaining contentions and find them unavailing.