Budget Amendment ID: FY2014-S3-583
EHS 583
Benefit Eligibility Verification Integrity
Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund and Knapik moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting after section _ the following section:-
SECTION _. Section 16 of chapter 6A of the General Laws, as most recently amended by section 5 of chapter 224 of the acts of 2012, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraphs:-
The executive office of health and human services shall establish and maintain a computerized income, asset, and identity eligibility verification system, hereafter referred to as an integrated eligibility system, in compliance with chapter 66A; provided that information held pursuant to the establishment of this system is used in a manner that meets all applicable federal and state privacy and security requirements, to aggregate data necessary to verify income, assets, and identity when determining an applicant’s eligibility for assistance, prior to the distribution of benefits and during eligibility reviews, in order to eliminate the duplication of assistance and deter fraud within each public benefits program administered by the office.
The verification system shall include a statewide document imaging system to track applicant and recipient eligibility documents, including the costs of ensuring said documents are properly categorized and accessible in a secure centralized location.
The office may enter into contracts with third-party vendors for the purposes of developing and maintaining the integrated eligibility system; provided that any such vendor shall be required by contract to establish annualized savings realized from the implementation of the integrated verification system and savings shall exceed the total yearly cost to the state for implementing the integrated verification system.
The office shall require all departments, offices, and divisions under the authority of the office, that are administering public benefits programs, prior to awarding, continuing, or reissuing public assistance, to use the integrated eligibility system to match the social security number of each applicant for or recipient of public assistance against, at minimum, information provided by the following public records data sources:
(1) a nationwide public records data source of physical asset ownership such as real property, automobiles, watercraft, aircraft and luxury vehicles;
(2) the department of revenue;
(3) undisclosed depository account information and account balances of disclosed accounts at national and local financial institutions;
(4) a nationwide public records data source of incarcerated individuals;
(5) outstanding default or arrest warrant information maintained by the criminal history systems board, the criminal justice information system, and the warrant management system;
(6) a nationwide best-address and driver's license data source to verify individuals are residents of the commonwealth;
(7) the registry of motor vehicles;
(8) the department of elementary and secondary education;
(9) a comprehensive public records database that identifies potential identity fraud or identity theft that can closely associate name, social security number, date of birth, phone and address information; and
(10) a database which is substantially similar to or a successor of a database mentioned in this section.
The office shall require all departments, offices, and divisions, under the authority of the office, that are administering public benefits programs, prior to awarding, continuing, or reissuing public assistance, to use the integrated eligibility system to match the social security number of each applicant and recipient of public assistance against information provided by the following data sources, to the extent such data sources are available:
(1) unearned income information maintained by the Internal Revenue Service;
(2) employer quarterly reports of income and unemployment insurance payment information maintained by the department of labor and workforce development;
(3) earned income information maintained by the Social Security Administration;
(4) immigration status information maintained by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services;
(5) death register information maintained by the Social Security Administration;
(6) prisoner information maintained by the Social Security Administration;
(7) public housing and Section 8 Housing Assistance payment information maintained by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Massachusetts public housing authorities;
(8) national fleeing felon information maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(9) wage reporting and similar information maintained by states contiguous to this State;
(10) beneficiary records and earnings information maintained by the Social Security Administration in its Beneficiary and Earnings Data Exchange (BENDEX) database;
(11) earnings and pension information maintained by the Social Security Administration in its Beneficiary Earnings Exchange Record System (BEERS) database;
(12) employment information maintained by the department of labor and workforce development and the department of unemployment assistance;
(13) employment information maintained by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in its National Directory of New Hires database;
(14) supplemental Security Income information maintained by the Social Security Administration in its SSI State Data Exchange (SDX) database;
(15) workers compensation information maintained by the department of industrial accidents;
(16) veterans’ benefits information maintained by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Massachusetts department of health and human services and department of veterans’ affairs, in the federal Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS) database;
(17) child care services information maintained by the department of children and families;
(18) utility payments information maintained by the department of housing and community development under the low income home energy assistance program;
(19) emergency utility payment information maintained by local cities and towns or councils on aging;
(20) a database of all persons who currently hold a license, permit, or certificate from a State agency the cost of which exceeds $1,000; and
(21) a database which is substantially similar to or a successor of a database mentioned in this section.
The office shall work with the departments, offices, or divisions, under the authority of the office, that assist in the administration of public benefit programs to develop uniform rules and regulations regarding intake procedures and procedures for handling discrepancies that may result between an applicant or recipient’s social security number and one or more of the databases or information tools outlined in this section; provided that an applicant or recipient shall be notified of any discrepancy that arises between their social security number and information retrieved by the integrated eligibility system and the applicant or recipient shall be provided an opportunity to explain any discrepancy; provided that self-declarations by an applicant or recipient shall not be accepted as the sole verification of categorical and financial eligibility during eligibility evaluations and reviews; provided further that all self-declarations made on or pursuant to an application for public assistance shall be signed under the pains and penalties of perjury; and, provided further that numerical identifiers, other than valid social security numbers, shall not be used as alternatives to social security numbers for time periods in excess of 3 months. If a recipient is unable to provide an accurate social security number to replace a numerical identifier within a time period of 3 months, unless good cause is provided for under the Immigration Nationality Act, the recipient’s public assistance benefits shall be terminated.
Nothing in this section shall preclude the office or any department, office, or division, under the authority of the office, that assists in the administration of public assistance, from conducting additional eligibility verification processes not detailed in this section.”; and
further by inserting in section 127, in line 1738, after the word, “health and human services,” the following words:-
“including the identity eligibility verification system,”.