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CALIFORNIA MUST REPAY $ 3 MILLION TO IMMIGRANTS WRONGLY REQUIRED TO REPAY WELFARE BENEFITS
In a report issued during the first week of April, California State auditors released a scathing critique of the recently discontinued program designed to detect fraudulent use of the state Medi-Cal welfare program. The program has also led to a class action lawsuit, settled last fall, that calls for the state to return $ 3 million to immigrants wrongfully required to repay the state, regardless of their immigration status.
The program was started in 1994, and placed Medi-Cal investigators at border stations in California alongside INS officials. The state investigators were to question people returning to the U.S. about receiving welfare benefits in order to crackdown on fraud. According to the auditors’ report, the investigators would often intimidate people into repaying benefits without determining whether the benefits were legally received.
The auditors’ report did note that the program had prevented about $ 15 million in welfare fraud, but found its overall financial benefits outweighed by expenses associated with the program. Indeed, prior to the report Medi-Cal officials had already begun cutting the program back. The auditors’ report was also critical of the state for disclosing information to federal immigration authorities.