ATLANTA – A computer database that would impress the National Security Agency, limits on benefits and stepped-up prosecution were among the suggestions lawmakers heard Wednesday for ways to reduce welfare fraud.
A committee of relatively junior members of the House of Representatives is looking for ideas on trimming waste that its chairman, Rep. David Clark, said could have prevented $139 million in improper Georgia payments in 2013. Stopping abuse, he said, would free up benefit money for the truly needed.
“You can’t get rid of poverty by giving people money, not that just alone,” said Clark, R-Buford. “We have to have ways for people to climb out of poverty and have incentives for them to try. Having work requirements would help a lot.”
Representatives of two conservative think tanks came from out of state to offer suggestions like shorter benefit periods, reductions of the benefits of adults and children for failure to work or look for it, and in-person explanation of how recipients can avoid those penalties.
About one in 10 people getting state benefits aren’t legally entitled to them, according to Andrew Brown, senior fellow with the Foundation for Government Accountability based in Washington. Cutting them off could save taxpayers $175 million, he estimated.
“I would venture a guess that you could probably find more savings,” he said.
While most of those recommendations deal with people after they begin getting Medicaid health coverage, food stamps or monthly benefit checks, an executive from the computer-database company LexisNexis said the first step is using more extensive background checks beforehand when people apply for aid.
“Not having some degree of knowledge-based authentication of benefits on the front door of benefits is not like having a lock on your front door,” said Trey Harrison, regional manager for LexisNexis.
The company’s store of records from credit bureaus, banks, government entities and other sources allows it to flag common frauds for investigators in states where it is contracted. A pilot project ongoing in Georgia triggered 3,464 questionable applications in May, and he expects it will save $180,000 per month.
The committee will hold another meeting before it drafts its report. It could call for legislation, but many of the ideas mentioned Wednesday are steps state agencies could take on their own.
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