An Erie County deputy comptroller will head a new Medicaid anti-fraud task force in county government.
County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz has chosen Michael Szukala to fill a recently created county Medicaid inspector general post that will work with the state to identify fraud by pharmacists and other professionals who provide care to Medicaid patients.
Szukala, a certified internal auditor who is one of two deputy county comptrollers, worked for Poloncarz for six years overseeing the audit division of the County Comptroller's Office.
The new job, which will pay $91,466, will lead a three-member team funded by the state Department of Health and the Office of Medicaid Inspector General. The new unit will investigate whether Medicaid providers are properly billing Erie County.
Poloncarz signed an agreement with the state office in July to work with the agency's staff to identify audits and recover overpayments made to providers in Erie County. Poloncarz has said he expects the new fraud unit will focus on three areas, including pharmacies, transportation and medical equipment providers.
The county office will also hire a consultant through the state to analyze data to identify potential Medicaid fraud.
"In Erie County, we haven't been doing any analysis for years," Poloncarz said when he announced the creation of the Medicaid anti-fraud task force in July.
Szukala, who worked as a supervising auditor in the City of Buffalo's Comptroller's Office before working for Erie County, is one of three aides who worked for Poloncarz in the County Comptroller's Office who have moved to the county executive's staff since Poloncarz took office in January. Budget Director Robert W. Keating is a former director of grant accounting services in the Comptroller's Office, and Mark Cornell, who is now director of policy and communications, was an associate deputy comptroller.
Szukala, who implemented the county comptroller's waste, fraud and abuse tip line, oversaw more than 60 audits and reviews during his time as deputy county comptroller, according to the county executive's office.
County Comptroller David Shenk said he plans to do interviews this month to fill the deputy comptroller position that will be vacant once Szukala starts the new job on Tuesday.
email: djgee@buffnews.com