Pennsylvania Representatives Want to Limit Food-Stamp Balances to Curb Fraud

Two Pennsylvania state lawmakers are spearheading legislation to curb food-stamp fraud by limiting the balances recipients can accumulate.

Representative Ann Flood (R-Pen Argyl) is drafting a bill requiring the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) to request a federal waiver allowing the commonwealth to cap the benefits a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) user can amass.  Kerry Beninghoff (R-Bellefonte) has meanwhile begun preparing a resolution asking the Biden administration to set such limits itself. Currently, the federally funded but state administered entitlement does not require those who draw SNAP benefits to spend them in order to remain eligible for them. 

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Democrats Propose Expanding MinnesotaCare to Include Illegal Immigrants

by Anthony Gockowski   Democrats have introduced a bill that would make illegal immigrants eligible for MinnesotaCare, a state-subsidized health insurance program. The bill, sponsored by State Rep. Esther Agbaje, DFL-Minneapolis, and State Sen. Alice Mann, DFL-Edina, would allow “undocumented noncitizens” to qualify for the program. Lawfully present noncitizens are already eligible. The Minnesota House People of Color and Indigenous Caucus identified the bill as one of its top priorities during a Jan. 25 press conference. “The time is now to reduce health disparities and increase individual, family, and community resilience,” said Rep. Mohamud Noor, DFL-Minneapolis. “Quite frankly, we spend more in terms of emergency medical assistance compared to paying through MinnesotaCare for all the undocumented immigrants.” According to the Department of Human Services, MinnesotaCare is designed for working Minnesotans who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but have incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. The program is financed by both state and federal dollars. Roughly 102,000 Minnesotans were enrolled in the program in 2021. Under the DFL’s bill, eligibility would be expanded to the estimated 81,000 illegal immigrants in the state. Democrats attempted to pass a similar bill last session, but it died in committee. “We should not use both state and…

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Tennessee Looks to Reinstate SNAP Benefit Work Requirement

A Tennessee bill to reinstate a 20-hour-a-week work requirement for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is headed to the Senate.

Senate Bill 2071 would require able-bodied individuals between age 18 and 49 and without children to work, train or volunteer for 20 hours each week to receive benefits. The bill would be effective once it is signed into law. Work-requirement laws were waived during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to sponsoring Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin.

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Former Memphis Day Care Director Sentenced for Falsifying Food Program Documents

Lowndes County School Buses

A former Memphis day care director was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for submitting false documents to the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

Fifty-five-year-old Ollie Stephenson of Germantown pleaded guilty to a criminal information charge after being accused of submitting a false Regions Bank statement and food invoice to the department in an audit during April and May 2020. Stephenson also was ordered to pay $375,158.80 in restitution.

Stephenson was the director of Louise’s Learning Tree Daycare Center in Memphis. It was part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Care Feeding Program.

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Minnesota Audit Finds Impropriety, Violated Rules in Department of Human Services

The Office of The Legislative Auditor released an audit Monday finding the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Behavioral Health Division (BHD) had inadequate internal controls and violated safeguards to prevent fraud and abuse.

“Since the creation of the Behavioral Health Division in early 2018, DHS did not analyze the risks of fraud, waste, abuse, and noncompliance with legal requirements related to oversight of BHD grants,” auditors wrote.

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