Posted by BOE Member George Runner at 12:00 am on Jun 30, 2009 Comments Off on Time is Now to Rein in IHSS Fraud
The IHSS program has seen disproportionate growth over the past
several years, and IHSS costs have grown nearly twice
as fast as inflation and population growth.
With this remarkable growth has come a growing element of fraud,
estimated to be as high as 25% of all funds expended. The
Governor is seeking simple reforms to help rein in growing fraud in
this worthy program. They are:
Fingerprinting and background checks for all providers
Automated fingerprint checks of recipients to prevent
double-dipping
Fraud training for county workers
Timecard accountability
Unannounced home visits
These are simple steps that ought to be easy to support to
ensure scarce funds go farther.
The chart below shows the incredible growth in the IHSS
program. Yet another example of a program with rapid growth,
runaway fraud, deserving of additional scrutiny to ensure more
funds are available to the truly needy. For 2009-10, the
chart reflects what expenditures would be without the Governor’s
proposed reductions.
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