Bleeding Heartland
Tuesday, Feb 19 2019
Matt Chapman has attended Iowa House and Senate subcommittee meetings nearly every day. These bills were among the most significant he has tracked lately. -promoted by Laura Belin
Over the past week, Iowa Senate subcommittees considered five bills drafted to address fraud in Iowa public assistance programs. Each bill would direct revenue generated by Iowa taxpayers to private vendors, who are charged with finding fraudulent claims. If investigation supports the claims of fraud, those funds could be recovered, and criminal charges filed.
It sounds like a simple solution, but these complex programs combat poverty in the areas of healthcare, disability and food insecurity. Other states have implemented all these proposals in one form or another. A bill that requires a percentage of those on Medicaid to work in Kentucky was stayed by the D.C. Circuit Court, and in Arkansas and Maine similar legislation caused eligible beneficiaries losing cover