Buffalo Spent $2 Million on Insurance for Deceased Workers

An audit by the Buffalo City comptroller revealed that the city of Buffalo spent nearly $2 million in taxpayer funds to pay for the health insurance premiums for 152 deceased employees.

According to the report, the auditors compared the list of employees on the city’s medical insurance against the free, online Social Security Death Index and found that the city spent $1.998 million for dead employees still on the city’s health plan. Most of the dead workers died within the past two years, meaning the majority of the costs have been incurred since 2009. However, several of the dead workers still on the city’s medical insurance had been dead for four years and at least one had died in 1998.

Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown told The Buffalo News that he is not ruling out the possibility that he might push for the removal of Buffalo's Human Resources Commissioner Karla L. Thomas in the wake of audit report.

City officials also are investigating if some relatives of the deceased who were listed on family policies may have improperly taken advantage of the health insurance, The Buffalo News reported.

"To be honest, it's a disgrace," Buffalo City Comptroller Andrew A. SanFilippo told The Buffalo News. "It's a major embarrassment to the city and a $2 million slap in the face to taxpayers."

It is unclear how much money Buffalo will be able to recoup from insurers for the premiums paid for deceased employees. Along with the $2 million paid for dead workers’ insurance premiums, the audit also found that the city made double payments for health insurance for up to 250 sanitation and water workers, resulting in a $526,309 overpayment. The city also has yet to recoup this money from its insurer.