Under Argall’s amendment, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) would hire at least 50 percent additional staff with a single purpose: investigate fraud, waste, misconduct and abuse claims from the Department of Human Services and Department of Health.
“For every dollar spent on welfare investigative and collective activities in the OIG, the state realizes an estimated benefit of $12,” Argall said. “This program would pay for itself again and again. More importantly, it maintains the integrity of our social assistance programs by ensuring those who need the help get it, and the cheaters get caught.”
Anyone who has information regarding welfare fraud is encouraged to call the OIG’s toll free welfare fraud tipline at 1-800-932-0582.
The bill returns to the House for concurrence on Senate amendments.