Big Sky Times

The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) has been awarded a $425,000 federal grant to enhance its public assistance fraud detection capabilities. The announcement was made by DPHHS Director Charlie Brereton, who emphasized the importance of ensuring that public assistance is provided only to eligible recipients.

"Our administration will continue taking steps to verify that those receiving public assistance are in fact eligible for taxpayer-funded benefits," said Director Brereton. "This new funding will allow us to implement more technology to ensure that public assistance programs remain available for those who truly need them."

The grant comes from the 2024 SNAP Fraud Framework Implementation Grant, with DPHHS's Office of Inspector General (OIG) being one of ten successful applicants out of fifteen submissions. The funds will be used to upgrade the department's current system for detecting and preventing fraudulent online submissions.

The development and testing of the enhanced technology are expected to take several months, with deployment planned for summer 2025. State officials highlight that using technology for data analysis will reduce manual efforts and improve efficiency in identifying potential fraud through reports highlighting case anomalies.

Technology can identify misuse by applying pre-determined fraud indicators, which helps generate lists of cases with a high probability of fraud. This includes applications submitted from outside Montana or multiple submissions from the same computer or phone number.

The Program Integrity (PI) section within DPHHS OIG is responsible for identifying, detecting, and investigating suspected recipient fraud across various programs including Medicaid, LIHEAP, SNAP, and TANF. Enhanced data analysis aims to streamline investigations and reporting processes.

"Effective fraud prevention, detection, and investigations are essential for maintaining program integrity," stated Program Compliance Bureau Chief Heather Smith. "Investigating potentially fraudulent cases earlier will decrease the issuance of erroneous benefits."

During State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024, the PI section received 1,528 referrals related to potential fraud from various sources compared to 1,625 in SFY 2023 and 2,035 in SFY 2022. Notably, allegations concerning SNAP accounted for 94% of these referrals. As a result of these referrals, there were 241 SNAP disqualifications issued in SFY 2024 due to program violations.

Fraudulent activities include providing false information on applications or failing to report changes such as new income streams or household members. Additionally, DPHHS employs the National Accuracy Clearinghouse to prevent concurrent SNAP enrollment across states while conducting further validations during eligibility determinations.