New York ambulatory surgery center fined

The Capital Region Ambulatory Surgery Center has paid $2.25 million in reimbursement and fines to the state for allegedly waiving out-of-pocket costs for services provided to government workers, New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said. DiNapoli's office published an audit of the center in December 2007 that reviewed the past six years at the center. The audit concluded that the surgery center frequently and inappropriately waived the out-of-pocket fees for state and local government employees who belonged to the state-run Empire Plan.