An Indiana welfare fraud bill advanced on second reading in the House Thursday as all proposed Democratic amendments failed.
Senate Bill 1, authored by State Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, was filed to prevent fraud and contain state spending on welfare programs because “Americans are outraged by the billions of dollars of welfare fraud in our nation — and the Minnesota scandal is Exhibit A,” according to a press release.
Minnesota has been under the spotlight for years for Medicaid fraud, including a massive $300 million pandemic fraud case involving the nonprofit Feeding Our Future. Prosecutors said it was the country’s largest COVID-19-related fraud scam and that defendants exploited a state-run, federally funded program intended to provide food for children.
In 2022, during President Joe Biden’s administration, 47 people were charged. The number of defendants has grown to 78 throughout the ongoing investigation. So far, 57 people have been convicted, either because they pleaded guilty or lost at trial.
In news interviews and press releases over the summer, then-federal prosecutor Joe Thompson estimated the total loss from all fraud cases could exceed $1 billion. Thompson left the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota in January over the way the investigation of the Jan. 7 shooting of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross is being handled, according to the New York Times and Minnesota Star-Tribune.
Garten said the purpose of the bill is to close loopholes within Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as well as complying with federal requirements under President Donald Trump’s budget bill that passed over the summer.
“By tightening these loopholes and aligning our programs with federal law we guarantee that our safety net remains sustainable for the poor, the disabled, our elderly and our Hoosier children who rely on it and need it the most,” Garten previously said.
The 24-page bill will end the state’s participation in the use of expanded categorical eligibility within the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, set gross income standards and countable resources for SNAP eligibility, and establish immigration eligibility requirements for SNAP.
Under the bill, if a SNAP applicant’s immigration status can’t be verified, the applicant’s information will be “immediately referred to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for investigation and potential deportation proceedings,” Garten said in a release.
Undocumented immigrants are already ineligible for SNAP. The only non-citizens who may qualify are lawful permanent residents, or Green card holders; asylees; and other legal residents under temporary protected status, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
Senate Bill 1 also establishes the timeframe for Medicaid eligibility redeterminations, and requires the Secretary of Family and Social Services to transmit certain information to the federal government to prevent multiple state Medicaid enrollments.
The bill further sets income requirements for Medicaid, and modifies immigration status requirements for Medicaid, including presumptive eligibility, including an increase to 80 hours of work or volunteering per month, and the Healthy Indiana Plan, and requires the office to verify compliance of the requirements and report information to the federal government.
Under HIP, the bill modifies work and exemption requirements and requires the conditions to be met in the three preceding months before an individual applies. The bill directs the Secretary of Family and Social Services to verify compliance with the work requirements on an ongoing basis and at least quarterly.
Senate Bill 1 removes the 12-month eligibility period for HIP and requires semiannual renewal, and it sets an additional copayment for the use of an emergency room for nonemergency services and other services under HIP.
When the bill was heard in the House Ways and Means committee on Monday, it was amended to require the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Secretary to file a written report to the budget committee with expenditures of money in the Indiana Rural Health Transformation Fund.
The bill passed out of the House Ways and Means committee 13-9, with State Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, joining Democrats on the committee in voting against the bill.
The bill was heard on second reading in the House on Thursday, during which one technical correction amendment was approved.
Clere proposed an amendment to remove SNAP broad-based categorical eligibility in the bill because it would help the state address its error rate under the Trump Administration’s budget bill and help families maintain “a modest savings.”
When the voice vote was too close to call, representatives called a division of the House, which required the representatives standing to be counted if they were for or against the amendment. The amendment failed 59-32.
Clere also filed an amendment to remove the payment of a copayment for HIP recipients for nonemergency services received in an emergency room.
“We want people to be served in the most appropriate setting; the reality is we have healthcare shortages in many counties,” Clere said. “We have shortages of primary care and other types of care throughout the state, and I’m concerned about requiring additional copay from HIP participants who are in a shortage area.”
The amendment failed.
Democrats presented 10 amendments to the bill, all of which failed.
State Rep. Gregory Porter, D-Indianapolis, filed four amendments that he presented in the House Ways and Means committee, where all were defeated.
Porter filed an amendment to remove portions of the bill that “go way beyond” the Trump administration’s budget bill, as well as an amendment to prohibit a change in definition of medically frail for Medicaid recipients without approval from the state budget committee.
Further, Porter proposed an amendment requiring quarterly reports from the FSSA secretary to the legislative council and the members of the Medicaid oversight committee with the offices “best professional estimate” of the citizenship status of those on Medicaid and receiving SNAP benefits.
Porter said he filed the amendment to ensure households with mixed-status homes to ensure the citizens in the home are receiving the benefits.
State Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, proposed an amendment to require the FSSA secretary to prepare a report before Oct. 1 of substantiated claims of Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse by hospitals, managed care organizations and other health facilities for the last three years.
DeLaney also filed a bill to require the budget committee to review the amount of federal funding available to the state and how potential changes could impact the state budget. If any negative impacts are identified, the amendment would allow the budget committee to transfer funds to ensure state programs are funded.
The bill advances for final consideration by the House.
akukulka@post-trib.com
