ALBANY, N.Y. — New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (dee-NAP’-oh-lee) says New York has lost $92 million in Medicaid billing errors and waste at a time the state can ill afford it.

He says his auditors found the state Department of Health improperly paid more than $53 million for recipients who had multiple Medicaid identification numbers.

Auditors also prevented payment of more than $20 million on claims that were either incorrect or not properly handled in the health department’s claims processing system.

Also among the audits released Tuesday was a finding that more than $1 million was paid for incorrect neonatal claims and transportation.

DiNapoli says he referred the problems to the office of the state Medicaid Inspector General.

Medicaid is New York’s most expensive program.