GOP bill aims at fraud in Medicaid, food stamps

Republican state legislators unveiled a plan Wednesday intended to crack down on food-stamp and Medicaid fraud.

House Bill 119, if enacted, would require state agencies to weed out cheaters by cross-checking the names of millions of beneficiaries with records of lottery winners, immigration status, earned and unearned income, real estate, incarceration and other states’ benefit programs. The checks would be conducted four times a year.

“Our goal is not to arrest people. Our goal is to make sure that only people entitled to participate in the program receive the benefits,” said Sen. Bill Coley, one of the bill’s sponsors.

The Cincinnati Republican said state agencies already conduct many of these checks — most of them electronically — annually. The legislation would make them required under Ohio law and more frequent.

Although no figures were presented on the actual or suspected number of Ohio cheats, co-sponsor Mike Henne said similar laws in other states have led to a savings of 2 to 4 percent in Medicaid and “additional savings” in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. Legislators also didn’t know the precise cost of conducting such checks but said it would be minimal.

“There are limited dollars and a lot of demand for those dollars,” said Henne, R-Clayton. “This bill will help stretch those limited Medicaid and SNAP dollars by reducing the fraud in the system.”

The legislators stressed that there would be no additional requirements of recipients, who are required by law to immediately report any change in income. Failure to do so subjects them to criminal charges and repayment of the illegal benefits.

About 1.5 million lowincome Ohioans receive food assistance and 3 million are on Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor and disabled.

“The state is already required to do data-matching ... it’s primarily done on SNAP and unemployment compensation. Instead of doing it (just) at time of application, they’d be doing it four times a year,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

“We believe that anyone who commits fraud in the program should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. That’s how we maintain integrity in the programs.”

Henne said such efforts will ensure that both programs can continue.

“Every dollar that we give to somebody who doesn’t qualify is a dollar we take away from somebody who needs it.”

Legislators also are considering a separate bill to require the photograph of a food-assistance beneficiary on the debit-like card used to buy groceries. Critics say such a requirement would do little to prevent fraud.