By the time Illinois decided to crack down on Medicaid fraud in 2012, state officials knew that many people enrolled in the program probably weren’t eligible. For years, caseworkers hadn’t had the time or resources to check.
To catch up, the state hired a private contractor to identify people who might not be eligible for the low-income health program and to make recommendations for whose benefits should be canceled. Within about a year, Illinois had canceled benefits for nearly 150,000 people whose eligibility could not be verified — and saved an estimated $70 million.
Now, faced with growing Medicaid enrollment and tight budgets, Republican lawmakers in several other states are taking similar steps to ensure that people receiving welfare benefits are eligible for them. Under their proposals, which are modeled on legislation drafted by a national conservative group, recipients would face tougher and more frequent eligibility checks. And the checks could be conducted by private contractors who are motivated to justify their hiring by knocking as many people as possible off the rolls.
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3 comments:
I really wish they would look at the people who are sitting behind the desks at the social services offices doing the fraud checks. They need to be checked for not doing their job as it is supposed to be done. They let this one go and report that one, all depending on who it is. That is no way to do welfare fraud checks. Oh well, what do I know.
I agree 6:54. Our son was the victim of collusion involving child support. The mother of the child was friendly with the case worker and he was gouged. When it was discovered the amount was cut drastically and of course who suffers. Our son paid dutifully for 18 1/2 years not shirking responsibility but what it cost him for about 15 years was terrible. We love our granddaughter and she is a beautiful young woman with our son's qualities; her mother on the other hand and maternal grandmother can stir up a witch's brew in a heartbeat.
It makes more sense to me not to have to correct mistakes after something is given. Why not make it harder to apply and receive benefits upfront on a case by case basis. Check out their financial info, where they live and how they are actually living. Check any references by a direct call to those people, if something doesn't click do a home visit first! Anyone could check for example here the Maryland Judiciary Service by names , counties you will at a glance see if they have a record, or if they have had trouble involving $, purchases, employment it costs nothing to look this info up and its right on your computer.
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