NEW YORK--After complaints of increased holdups for DME prior approval requests since the state closed its Medicaid Manhattan office late last year, New York's deputy health commissioner defended the program in a hearing last week, Newsday reported.

"Overall, I believe the durable medical equipment program is a highly successful program that is providing thousands of Medicaid recipients each year with needed medical equipment," said Kathryn Kuhmerker, deputy commissioner in the state Health Department's Office of Medicaid Management, the magazine reported.

The department has come under fire since November, when the Manhattan office was closed and transferred to a central office in Albany. Since the move, providers have reported increased delays and denials, and some patients have reported waiting for months for important medical equipment. According to the report, one provider at last week's hearing said that approval rates for equipment dropped from 80 percent to 40 percent after the move.

The hearing was called in response to those complaints. According to Newsday, Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-Manhattan, called the office "extraordinarily cruel ... You don't deal with fraud by denying those in real need."

Kuhmerker said on average it takes five to eight days to deal with a request, and that 95 percent of requests are approved.

In other state news, last week Gov. George Pataki established an independent Office of the Inspector General to improve analysis of Medicaid claims and help reduce fraud and abuse.