POLITICS: Nassau County Exec Bruce Blakeman, FBI Director Kash Patel discuss cooperation over Medicaid fraud allegations: sources

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman met with FBI Director (and former Nassau resident) Kash Patel at the Islanders game at UBS Arena in Elmont Sunday, where they spoke about more than Alex Ovechkin’s record-breaking performance.

Sources say Blakeman and Patel discussed cooperation between the FBI and Nassau Police Department over allegations of Medicaid fraud involving New York state’s funding of Long Island’s only safety-net hospital. 

Nassau University Medical Center claims that New York corruptly deprived it of more than $1 billion in Medicaid funds over nearly two decades.

Blakeman and Patel’s meeting follows a letter from Rep. Eric Burlison to Patel and AG Pam Bondi last week accusing New York of “violating federal Medicaid law and intentionally breaching contracts with the federal government, specifically in relation to the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program.”

Nassau Health Care Corporation (NHCC), the public benefit corporation that oversees the hospital, sued New York last year and claims it is now being retaliated against.

“This is corruption that is both broad and deep within our State’s government,” NHCC chairman Matthew Bruderman told Burlison.

“This wasn’t a clerical oversight, a bookkeeping mistake or incompetence. What we’ve uncovered was nefarious, intentional and the State covered it up for years to starve this hospital and the people it serves of resources.”

It’s time to save this great hospital.