Legislators are responding to a March 17 report by the Office of the Legislative Auditor that found the Department of Human Services has more power than it believes to investigate kickback complaints in autism programs.
Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria) sponsors HF4566 to specify that a credible allegation of fraud includes an allegation of illegal remuneration, aka a “kickback.” The bill would also direct the department to use expedited rulemaking to correct a reference in the definition of fraud and permit the suspension of medical assistance payments during investigation of kickback fraud.
“Since my time here, I have heard about kickbacks. I’ve also heard that kickbacks don’t exist,” Franson said. “I’ve also heard it’s racist to talk about kickbacks because they don’t exist.”
The bill was laid over Tuesday by the House Human Services Finance and Policy Committee for future…
Identity theft is the “foundational” fraud upon which many other crimes are built. It involves the unauthorized acquisition and use of a person’s personal identifying information (PII), such as an ID number, Social Security number, or passport details.
- How it works: Fraudsters obtain PII through data breaches, mail theft, or “social engineering” (tricking people into revealing details). Once they have this data, they can open new bank accounts, apply for credit cards or loans, and even receive medical treatment under your name.
- Synthetic Identity Fraud: A sophisticated variation where criminals combine real and fabricated information to create a completely new, “synthetic” person. This is particularly difficult to detect because there is no single victim to report the suspicious activity initially.