States that have audited their public assistance programs have found shocking results.
- Michigan identified more than 7,000 lottery winners who were still collecting welfare, some with jackpots as high as $4 million.
- Illinois uncovered more than 14,000 dead enrollees on Medicaid.
- Utah and Maine found individuals who were using their welfare benefits exclusively out-of-state.
- Arkansas discovered more than 20,000 individuals with high-risk identities, including people using stolen identities or even fake Social Security numbers, who were enrolled in its program.
- In Louisiana, the legislative auditor made a random selection of 100 Medicaid recipients and determined that 82 of those individuals did not qualify for the benefits they were receiving.
- In March of 2019, Oregon announced that a Medicaid audit will save the state more than $100 million annually by ending improper payments to people who don't qualify for the program.
- North Carolina found that they improperly paid more than $100 million in Medicaid claims, which included overpayments to providers and benefits paid to ineligible recipients.
It is unclear how much Medicaid fraud may be present in Iowa according to a Des Moines Register op-ed by ITR Policy Director John Hendrickson and Buckeye Institute Executive Director Rea Hederman, Jr.
Iowa taxpayers deserve to know their hard-earned dollars are being spent appropriately. To allow Medicaid fraud is a fleecing of taxpayers, and it is unfair to those Iowans who need the services that Medicaid provides.
Last week, the Iowa Senate passed a bill addressing public assistance eligibility with a 30-18 vote. This bill has been sent to the Iowa House.