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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20190&cosponId=28479
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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

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House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: February 22, 2019 09:57 AM
From: Representative Russ Diamond
To: All House members
Subject: Fighting Welfare Benefit Fraud & Abuse (former HB 1588)
 
Pennsylvania has an outstanding prescription medication assistance program for older adults known as PACE and PACENET. Recently I received a letter from PACE inviting my father, who has been deceased for over three years now, to apply for SNAP benefits. This brought to my attention a glitch in the system that must be addressed.

Currently, the Department of Aging consults with federal agencies to check for deceased applicants and enrollees. As evidenced by my experience, this can result in a significant lag time in removing deceased individuals from those lists.

With the advancement of technology and communications, we can go one step further by accurately checking such records in a more timely manner to ensure we are not wasting time and resources offering benefit programs to residents who have already passed away.

For this reason, I intend to re-introduce legislation (former HB 1588) requiring the Department of Aging to cross reference its list of beneficiaries with death records maintained by the Department of Health on a monthly basis. This will enhance the system and increase efficiencies within the PACE program by more promptly removing deceased persons from their database.

This bill was passed unanimously (191-0) during the 2017-2018 legislative session.

Please join me in cosponsoring this legislation aimed at reducing possible duplication of services and waste.

PREVIOUS COSPONSORS: DUNBAR, FRITZ, A. HARRIS, HELM, JAMES, MILLARD, B. MILLER, RYAN, SANKEY, SAYLOR, WARNER AND ZIMMERMAN

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Introduced as HB775