Welfare Efficiency Initiative
Photo ID – Rep. Rob Kauffman
Requires the Department of Public Welfare to place the Photo ID of a welfare recipient on their electronic benefits transfer card.
Income Eligibility Verification System – Rep. Mauree Gingrich
Establishes the Commonwealth’s Income Eligibility Verification System (IEVS), a computerized system which matches the social security numbers of applicants with 19 different federal and state databases.
DPW Reporting Requirements – Rep. Gordon Denlinger
Requires DPW to submit certain information pertaining to DPW’s plans and operations to the State Treasurer, Inspector General, and Officers of the General Assembly by November 30 each year.
DPW will also be required to post the information on its website.
Residency Requirements for County Assistance Offices – Rep. Tom Quigley
Requires that a person may only apply for welfare benefits at the nearest County Assistance Office (CAO) in his/her county.
If a person lives in a county with only one CAO, they may apply at a CAO in a neighboring county only if the neighboring county’s CAO is geographically closer than the CAO in that individual’s county of residence.
Residency Requirement – Rep. Tina Pickett
Clarifies that residency, a requirement for receiving assistance, is established when an individual resides in the Commonwealth for at least 90 days (mirrors PACE/PACENET requirement).
Independent Inspector General – Rep. Ron Marsico
Establishes the Office of Inspector General as an independent agency subject to gubernatorial appointment and Senate confirmation.
Drug Testing – Rep. Garth Everett
Provides that applicants between the ages of 18 and 65 take and pass a test for illegal drug use as a condition of receiving benefits under TANF or general assistance.
Work or Educational Requirement: Rep. Jim Cox
Establishes the requirement that adult family members shall be required to be employed or enrolled in an educational program for at least 20 hour/week in order to be eligible for subsidized child care.
Special Allowances Restriction/Elimination: Rep. Mike Turzai
Eliminates special allowances for welfare recipients, such as special payments for the purchase or repair of a vehicle, purchase of tools, etc.
Testing fees, union dues, or professional fees would not be eliminated for people who require them as a condition of employment.
Citizenship Requirements: Rep. Metzgar
Establishes US citizenship requirements in order to receive assistance.
Automated Prepayment Audit System: Rep. Gingrich
Provides for a pre-payment automatic audit system to audit MA pharmacy claims for aberrant patterns.
Before payments are made, they are able to address unusual patterns.
MA Provider Tax Match: Rep. Mensch
Explore a method to combat provider fraud by cross-checking provider’s professional licenses with their state income tax returns.
Prohibition of alcohol purchases with welfare dollars: Rep. Dave Reed
Prohibits liquor stores and beer distributors from accepting EBT cards.
Statutory right for case-worker to make direct referral of suspected fraud to O.I.G.: Rep. Sheryl Delozier
Would statutorily provide that any case-worker can make a report of suspected fraud directly to the O.I.G. without having to run the report through DPW management.
Forensic audit of DPW: Rep. Gordon Denlinger
Provide for a comprehensive audit that includes provider and recipient sampling to uncover and reveal fraudulent actions in DPW.