2008 Legislation
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SENATE BILL NO. 1341<br /> – Public assistnce/fraud control prog

SENATE BILL NO. 1341

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Bill Status



S1341.................................................by HEALTH AND WELFARE
PUBLIC ASSISTANCE - FRAUD CONTROL - Amends and adds to existing law
relating to public assistance to revise a term and its scope; to provide
that the Department of Health and Welfare shall establish a fraud control
program; and to provide for authority.

01/24    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/25    Rpt prt - to Health/Wel
02/01    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/04    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/06    3rd rdg - PASSED - 35-0-0
      AYES -- Andreason, Bair, Bastian, Bilyeu, Broadsword, Burkett,
      Cameron, Coiner, Corder, Darrington, Davis, Fulcher, Gannon, Geddes,
      Goedde, Hammond, Heinrich, Hill, Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst,
      Little, Lodge, Malepeai(Sagness), McGee, McKague, McKenzie, Pearce,
      Richardson, Schroeder, Siddoway, Stegner, Stennett(Thorson), Werk
      NAYS -- None
      Absent and excused -- None
    Floor Sponsor - Hammond
    Title apvd - to House
02/07    House intro - 1st rdg - to Health/Wel
03/11    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/12    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/13    3rd rdg - PASSED - 68-0-2
      AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barrett, Bayer, Bedke, Bell, Black, Block,
      Bock, Boe, Bolz, Bowers, Brackett, Bradford, Chadderdon, Chavez,
      Chew, Clark, Collins, Crane, Durst, Eskridge, Hagedorn, Hart,
      Henbest, Henderson, Jaquet, Killen, King, Kren, Labrador, Lake,
      LeFavour, Loertscher, Luker, Marriott, Mathews, McGeachin, Mortimer,
      Moyle, Nielsen, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart, Patrick, Pence, Raybould,
      Ringo, Roberts, Ruchti, Rusche, Sayler, Schaefer, Shepherd(02),
      Shepherd(08), Shirley, Shively, Smith(30), Smith(24), Snodgrass,
      Stevenson, Thayn, Thomas, Trail, Vander Woude, Wills, Wood(27),
      Wood(35), Mr. Speaker
      NAYS -- None
      Absent and excused -- Bilbao, Harwood
    Floor Sponsor - Rusche
    Title apvd - to Senate
03/14    To enrol
03/17    Rpt enrol - Pres signed - Sp signed
03/18    To Governor
03/18    Governor signed
         Session Law Chapter 188
         Effective: 07/01/08

Bill Text




                                                                       
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-ninth Legislature                   Second Regular Session - 2008

                                                                       

                                       IN THE SENATE

                                    SENATE BILL NO. 1341

                              BY HEALTH AND WELFARE COMMITTEE

  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO PUBLIC ASSISTANCE FRAUD; AMENDING SECTION 56-227, IDAHO  CODE,  TO
  3        REVISE  A  TERM AND ITS SCOPE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FRAUD
  4        CONTROL PROGRAM IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND WELFARE AND TO PROVIDE FOR
  5        ITS AUTHORITY AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

  6    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:

  7        SECTION 1.  That Section 56-227, Idaho Code, be, and the  same  is  hereby
  8    amended to read as follows:

  9        56-227.  FRAUDULENT  ACTS  --  PENALTY. (a1) Whoever knowingly obtains, or
 10    attempts to obtain, or aids or abets any person in obtaining, by  means  of  a
 11    willfully  false statement or representation, material omission, or fraudulent
 12    devices, public assistance, relief or federal-aid assistance to  which  he  is
 13    not  entitled,  or  in an amount greater than that to which he is justly enti-
 14    tled, shall be punished in the same manner and to the same extent as for  lar-
 15    ceny  or  theft  of the money or value of the public assistance so obtained or
 16    attempted to be so obtained.
 17        (b2)  Whoever sells, conveys, mortgages or otherwise disposes of his prop-
 18    erty, real or personal, or conceals his income or resources, for  the  purpose
 19    of  rendering him eligible for any form of assistance, theretofore or thereaf-
 20    ter applied for, to which he would not otherwise be entitled,  shall  be  pun-
 21    ished in the same manner and to the same extent as for larceny or theft of the
 22    money or value of the assistance so obtained or so attempted to be obtained.
 23        (c3)  Every person who knowingly aids or abets any person in selling, con-
 24    veying,  mortgaging  or otherwise disposing of his property, real or personal,
 25    or in concealing his income or resources for the purpose of rendering him eli-
 26    gible for any form of public assistance or relief, theretofore  or  thereafter
 27    applied  for  and received, to which he would not otherwise be entitled, shall
 28    be punished in the same manner and to the same extent as for larceny or  theft
 29    of  the  money  or  value  of  the  public assistance or relief so obtained or
 30    attempted to be obtained.
 31        (d4)  For the purpose of this section federal-aid public assistance  shall
 32    include  the  specific categories of assistance for which provision is made in
 33    any federal or state law existing or hereafter enacted by the congress of  the
 34    United  States  or the state of Idaho by which payments are made from the fed-
 35    eral government to the state in aid or in respect to payment by the state  for
 36    welfare  purposes  to  any  category  of needy person and any other program of
 37    assistance for which provision for federal or state funds  for  aid  may  from
 38    time to time be made.
 39        (5)  The  state department of health and welfare shall establish and oper-
 40    ate a fraud control program to investigate suspected fraud relating to  appli-
 41    cations  for  public  assistance  benefits,  and  public  assistance  benefits
 42    received  by  individuals or entities. Such activities shall be those which do
 43    not fall under the authority of the medicaid fraud control unit as provided in

                                       2

  1    section 56-226, Idaho Code. The department  shall  establish  a  procedure  to
  2    coordinate  information  with prosecuting attorneys to prosecute offenders who
  3    commit fraudulent acts pursuant to this chapter.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


                     STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                            RS 17379

The Department of Health and Welfare currently operates a public 
assistance fraud investigation program to investigate applications 
for public assistance benefits and Idaho Child Care Program and 
other vendors billing the programs for services.  This does not 
include Medicaid providers who are investigated for fraud by the 
Certified Medicaid Fraud Unit in the Office of the Attorney 
General. This unit is funded to solely investigate Medicaid 
provider fraud and the funding prohibits investigation of 
beneficiary or fraud with public assistance applications.  HB166 
approved by the 2007 Legislature created the Certified Medicaid 
Fraud Unit and deleted the statutory authority for the Department 
to investigate beneficiary fraud, however  added a section to 56-
227D giving the Department authority to investigate fraud with 
applications for food stamps only.  This proposed legislation will 
provide the necessary authority for the Department to investigate 
applications in all of the other public assistance programs of the 
Department and those areas not investigated by the Certified 
Medicaid Fraud Unit.


                            FISCAL NOTE

The proposed legislation clarifies the authority of the Department 
to investigate applications for public assistance fraud. Since the 
Department is currently conducting these activities and there is no 
anticipated change in practice there is no fiscal impact to this 
proposed legislation.




CONTACT
Name:	Mond Warren
Agency:	Health and Welfare
Phone:	208-334-0609


STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE	                      S 1341