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