HELENA – A Republican state senator from Billings Wednesday presented a key piece of GOP plans to reform Medicaid and public-assistance programs in Montana: A bill to hire an outside contractor to verify the eligibility of welfare applicants.
“If we don’t think there is a problem, we’re kidding ourselves,” said Sen. Cary Smith. “If you’re not checking, if you’re not verifying, there are going to be more people scamming the system.”
Smith is sponsoring Senate Bill 148, which directs the state to hire a private contractor that would verify applications for programs like Medicaid and food stamps.
The company would access various data bases to confirm applicants’ information and not be paid unless it created savings in the programs.
via GOP bill: Hire outside vendor to check for welfare fraud.