|
Help save yourself -- join CLT
today! |
CLT introduction and membership application |
What CLT saves you from the auto excise tax alone |
Ask your friends to join too |
CLT UPDATE
Friday, October 19, 2012
Multi-millions for waste, not enough for our tiny tax cut?
|
Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration on Monday
ordered tighter controls on state spending and hiring but opted not
to revise its revenue estimate for the current fiscal year in the
face of lagging tax collections.
Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration on Monday
ordered tighter controls on state spending and hiring but opted not
to revise its revenue estimate for the current fiscal year in the
face of lagging tax collections.
Jay Gonzalez, the state Secretary of
Administration and Finance, said in a letter to the governor and key
lawmakers that he believed the state would have enough revenue to
meet its budget obligations....
It was also possible that, by law, the state’s
income tax rate could automatically fall from 5.25 percent to 5.20
percent on Jan. 1, Gonzalez said, resulting in a loss of about $57
million in revenue for the final six months of fiscal 2013.
Associated Press
Monday, October 15, 2012
Mass. tightens spending after revenue misses mark
A scathing state auditor’s review has found
taxpayers are picking up the health insurance tab for people who
don’t live in the state or who make too much money to qualify for
benefits.
State Auditor Suzanne Bump’s office found
MassHealth spent $6.5 million on health care in 2010 for 4,643
patients who had to be removed because they weren’t Bay State
residents or were already getting benefits from another state.
The audit released yesterday concluded MassHealth
doesn’t fully verify patients’ self-reported earned income or
residency, creating conditions leaving it vulnerable to abuse and
manipulation.
The Boston Herald
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Double dippers sap Mass. program
Thousands of out-of-state residents could be
wrongfully receiving state health care benefits because MassHealth
fails to verify their residency while others may be receiving
benefits without meeting income qualifications, according to a state
audit released Wednesday.
The lack of verification could be costing the
state millions of dollars each year, according to the report from
Auditor Suzanne Bump. Based on the magnitude of the program, which
has 1.3 million enrollees, “the financial ramifications of
MassHealth not performing effective income eligibility verifications
for applicants could have an adverse effect on the Commonwealth’s
finances,” the report stated....
In 2010, MassHealth spent approximately $6.5
million on services for 4,643 individuals who were later removed
from the program because they were not Massachusetts residents,
received benefits from another state, or state officials could not
determine where the enrollees lived....
The auditor’s report also found MassHealth does
not comply with state and federal regulations by not verifying an
applicants’ self-reported income. A MassHealth recipients’ income is
verified roughly one year after they are enrolled in the Medicaid
program, and already receiving benefits, according to the audit. In
addition, MassHealth does not verify unearned income, such as
pension payments, rental income, stock dividends or any lottery
winnings by checking information available from the IRS or the state
Department of Revenue.
State House News Service
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Audit: Verification procedures leave MassHealth vulnerable to fraud
House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, Jr. [R-North
Reading], said a state auditor’s report detailing the potential for
fraud in the state’s Medicaid program should serve as a “wakeup
call” on Beacon Hill for Democrats who have left open the
possibility of pursuing tax increases next year. Jones called the
audit released Wednesday the “latest example of where Governor
Patrick has fallen short in ringing out waste and demanding
accountability in state spending.” ...
“Instead of proceeding with a tax and spend
approach to addressing the state’s financial shortcomings -- without
telling taxpayers until after the November election -- maybe
Governor Patrick and his Democratic cohorts should first consider
eliminating any and all waste, fraud, and abuse in state run
programs. The failure to account for millions of dollars annually
within a state agency is exactly why the idea of raising taxes
should not be on the table.”
State House News Service
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
State Capitol Briefs
Jones: Medicaid audit a "wakeup call" for those considering new
taxes
|
|
Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Twenty-three years later we taxpayers are
still waiting for the income tax to be rolled back to its
historic 5 percent as promised when the tax hike was imposed. The
voters are still waiting for the Legislature to find some
respect for the voters, who in 2000 demanded by 59% that it be rolled
back to 5 percent by 2003 but were flagrantly spurned by the
Legislature.
All we've heard for now over two decades is that
the state "can't afford" to keep its promise, how the state needs
our money more than we do.
It has become much too evident why this is so.
It has only now been discovered that $6.5 million
was wasted "on services for 4,643 individuals who were later removed
from the program because they were not Massachusetts residents,
received benefits from another state, or state officials could not
determine where the enrollees lived."
Add that to the exposé of last June
— pried loose from the administration
only through the dogged efforts of freshman state Rep. Jim Lyons
(R-Andover) — "Illegal aliens,
out-of-staters and others who failed to produce proof of
Massachusetts residency drained $118 million from the pool of cash
the state uses to reimburse hospitals and clinics that care for the
poor in the latest year on record, state officials say." (See:
CLT Update, Jun. 15, 2012 ("$118
million more for illegals acknowledged by Patrick administration -
No wonder they say we need more taxes!")
Every day it seems there is a new scandal over
wasted taxpayers' money — the ongoing
probation department nepotism scandal, for instance. Here's yet
another, indicting Bay State crony capitalism: Governor Patrick's
"Green Energy" extravaganzas.
News Release
Executive Department
Office of Governor Deval L. Patrick
April 22, 2010
On Earth Day, Governor Patrick announces expansion of
clean tech company,
celebrates report finding Massachusetts clean energy leader
$5 million in financing from Massachusetts Clean Energy
Center will help A123 Systems
expand facilities, create more than 250 jobs
On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Governor Deval Patrick
today announced that advanced battery maker A123 Systems
will create more than 250 new jobs and locate its growing
grid power storage division in Massachusetts. The Governor
also pointed to a new report's finding that Massachusetts is
a clean energy leader nationally and progress in
implementing the nation's most ambitious greenhouse gas law
as further evidence of the Patrick-Murray Administration's
commitment to building the Commonwealth's clean energy
economy and future.
To help facilitate A123 System's expansion, the
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) has approved a
$5 million forgivable loan for the Watertown-based company
contingent on it hitting job creation and private investment
milestones. The company anticipates making $80 million in
capital expenditures in Massachusetts to build up its
manufacturing and R&D capabilities here by the end of 2014.
"A123 has already established itself as a leading battery
maker for the electric cars that are the clean energy future
of the U.S. auto industry," said Governor Patrick. "I am
pleased to see this Massachusetts company growing its
operations here, creating jobs and contributing to the
Commonwealth's clean energy leadership." ...
"The Clean Energy Center loan will help create jobs in
Hopkinton while advancing the Commonwealth's goal of
embracing the economy of the future through green technology
and clean energy. I am excited that Massachusetts is able to
continue to support A123 Systems as it seeks to
revolutionize the way we create energy for our cars and
consumer electronics. This partnership will result in good
jobs for Massachusetts residents and good clean technology
for the global economy," said Senator Karen Spilka, Senate
Chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and
Emerging Technology.
"The state has always been an innovator in clean energy
technology and policy. This strategic investment will help
the Commonwealth meet its emission reduction targets, while
creating sustainable jobs. It is a win for both the
environment and the economy," said Senator Marc Pacheco,
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Global Warming and
Climate Change.
"Massachusetts is at the forefront of clean energy
innovation, and companies like A123 have put us there. With
this investment from the Clean Energy Center, the company
can expand its operation here in Metrowest, create needed
jobs, and leverage $80 million in private funds. There's
real opportunity here and I'm so pleased to see this funding
come through. And what better way to recognize Earth Day
than to support a local company like A123 that's leading the
way in green and sustainable sources of energy," said
Representative Carolyn Dykema.
The Boston Globe
October 17, 2012
Failure of A123 Systems becomes part of fray
By Erin Ailworth
Advanced battery maker A123 Systems
Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday after
burning through more than $100 million in taxpayer money,
thrusting the Waltham company into the middle of the
presidential sparring over energy and economic policies....
A123’s bankruptcy filing represented a stunning fall for a
company once viewed by both the Obama and Governor Deval
Patrick administrations as a key component of a clean-energy
driven economy. The Department of Energy awarded nearly $250
million in stimulus money to A123 to build plants in
Michigan, more than half of which was spent by the company.
Massachusetts made a loan of $5 million to A123. Richard K.
Sullivan Jr., state secretary of Energy and Environmental
Affairs, said his office would monitor the proceedings and
recoup the state’s money if possible.
New England
Cable News
October 16, 2012
A123 becomes latest 'green energy' failure
Aides to Gov. Deval Patrick said Massachusetts taxpayers are
on the hook for only $2.5 million, the balance of a $5
million grant from the state Clean Energy Center, the first
half of which was forgiven based on what
A123 spent building a
headquarters at 200 West Street on the Waltham-Weston line
and creating jobs....
Massachusetts made
a loan of $5 million to A123. Richard K. Sullivan Jr., state
secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said his
office would monitor the proceedings and recoup the state’s
money if possible.
But that's just the
latest utter waste of taxpayers' money
thrown away to crony capitalists. This
pie-in-the-sky spending has been going on for years, failing again
and again.
News Release
Massachusetts Republican Party
November 11, 2011
As Green Energy corps. tank, Patrick touts investments
Beacon Power received $5
million in subsidies from the Patrick-Murray administration.
"Beacon Power is another in a series of clean energy
technology companies that is making Massachusetts its home,
and the world its customer," said Governor Patrick. "I'm
proud of the help our agencies are giving this impressive
young company, and proud to have them here in Tyngsborough."
(Beacon Power Receives Commitment for $5 Million Loan for
Facility Expansion and Clean Tech Job Creation, July 13
2008)...
Bill Capp, Beacon Power CEO gave $1,000 to Governor Patrick
and $500 to the Democratic State Committee from '09 to '10.
(OCPF)
CNNMoney
November 1, 2011
Beacon Power: Another energy loan gone bad
By Steve Hargreaves
Another alternative energy company that received a loan
guarantee from the U.S. government has filed for bankruptcy.
Beacon Power, which makes
energy storage devices used to help the power grid become
more efficient, filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday,
according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission....
The state's Big One —
Mini-Me Deval Patrick's Mini-Solyndra — alone would have been
more than enough to cover this year's
five-one-hundredths of one percent
reduction of the state income tax, bringing it down minutely to 5.20
percent.
State House News
Service
January 26, 2011
Auditor to look at Evergreen incentives as part of broader
review
By Michael Norton
State Housing and Economic Development Secretary Greg
Bialecki said last week that Evergreen
had received $21 million in cash grants - $20 million to
help build its facility and $1 million for workforce
training - $7.5 million in investment tax credits and a
long-term lease on state land valued at $2.7 million.
Evergreen has received other forms of public aid, but
Bialecki said he did not count in his estimate $13 million
in state grants used to build road and utilities
infrastructure at Devens and some state taxes the company
avoided when paying for equipment.
Bialecki estimated the state can recoup $13 million,
including the $7.5 million investment tax credit, which he
said won't be claimed, $3 million in state grants that were
tied to a job creation formula, and land costs.
The Boston
Herald
August 15, 2011
Evergreen Solar files for bankruptcy, plans asset sale
By Greg Turner and Jerry Kronenberg
Evergreen Solar Inc., the
Massachusetts clean-energy company that received millions in
state subsidies from the Patrick administration for an
ill-fated Bay State factory, has filed for bankruptcy,
listing $485.6 million in debt.
Evergreen, which closed its taxpayer-supported Devens
factory in March and cut 800 jobs, has been trying to rework
its debt for months....
The Massachusetts Republican Party called the Patrick
administration’s $58 million financial aid package, which
supported Evergreen’s $450 million factory, a “waste” of
money....
The state is still trying to recoup about $4 million in cash
from the Marlboro-based company.
This year's anticipated
five-one-hundredths of one percent
(0.05) reduction of the state income tax rate is projected to "cost"
the state $57 Million.
That's a million of our
bucks less than what the Patrick administration handed out to
the now-bankrupt Evergreen Solar.
|
Some
documented and blatant state spending waste |
|
Health care in 2010 for 4,643
non-resident patients: |
$6.5 Million |
|
Hospital/clinic reimbursements by the
state for illegal aliens, out-of-staters and others
who failed to produce proof of Massachusetts residency
(Oct. 2010 - Sept. 2011): |
$118 Million |
|
Beacon Power: |
$5 Million |
|
Evergreen Solar: |
$58 Million |
|
A123 Systems: |
$5 Million |
|
TOTAL
WASTE: |
$192.5 Million |
If the powers-that-be on
Bacon Hill can squander $192.5 Million so ineptly, can anyone
honestly say with a straight face that the state government "can't afford" to finally roll back the income tax to 5
percent — as was promised twenty-three years ago, and demanded by
the voters a dozen years back?
Remember in November when
you vote!
CLT's 2½ PAC-endorsed legislative candidates for the 2012 election
|
 |
 |
|
Chip Ford |
|
|
|
|
The Boston Herald
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Double dippers sap Mass. program
By Chris Cassidy
A scathing state auditor’s review has found taxpayers are picking up
the health insurance tab for people who don’t live in the state or
who make too much money to qualify for benefits.
State Auditor Suzanne Bump’s office found MassHealth spent $6.5
million on health care in 2010 for 4,643 patients who had to be
removed because they weren’t Bay State residents or were already
getting benefits from another state.
The audit released yesterday concluded MassHealth doesn’t fully
verify patients’ self-reported earned income or residency, creating
conditions leaving it vulnerable to abuse and manipulation.
“We found that while the policies conform, the practice doesn’t
consistently conform to the policy,” Bump told the Herald.
The audit points to two examples:
• Taxpayers picked up $60,000 in medical bills for a Greek family
who traveled to the Bay State specifically to seek treatment for two
of their children.
• An 86-year-old Florida woman listing Rockport as her hometown —
and supplying no proof of residency — was allowed to join the health
care program.
MassHealth is a public health insurance system for low- to
middle-income residents of the Bay State.
The agency defended itself yesterday, saying it’s already worked
with Bump’s office to comply with the issues raised in the audit.
MassHealth claimed it’s already saved an estimated $21 million by
identifying more than 6,000 members getting benefits in other states
and that it’s created an office to root out fraud.
“Our goal is always to protect public resources, while also
preserving access to health care for vulnerable populations,”
MassHealth Director Julian Harris said in a statement.
State House News Service
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Audit: Verification procedures leave MassHealth vulnerable to fraud
By Colleen Quinn
Thousands of out-of-state residents could be wrongfully receiving
state health care benefits because MassHealth fails to verify their
residency while others may be receiving benefits without meeting
income qualifications, according to a state audit released
Wednesday.
The lack of verification could be costing the state millions of
dollars each year, according to the report from Auditor Suzanne
Bump. Based on the magnitude of the program, which has 1.3 million
enrollees, “the financial ramifications of MassHealth not performing
effective income eligibility verifications for applicants could have
an adverse effect on the Commonwealth’s finances,” the report
stated.
Too many income and residency claims are left unchecked and taken at
“face value,” Bump told the News Service. Asked if program overseers
have the resources to verify all of the information submitted by
applicants, Bump said, “They have an obligation to under the federal
rules and under their own policies.”
“I realize that MassHealth has a very difficult job to do to
maintain access to folks that experience a lot of job and residency
instability. At the same time you’ve got to weigh that against the
finite number of public dollars that support this program,” she
said. “I urge MassHealth to find a better balance.”
Bump’s office, which has a Medicaid unit, launched its audit last
year. “Obviously, our purpose was not to try to determine how many
ineligible people receive benefits, but rather to look at the
program’s integrity and raise the flags and help concentrate
MassHealth on achieving a better balance,” Bump said.
The price tag for MassHealth - which provides health benefits to
low- and moderate-income residents or nearly one in five
Massachusetts residents - have increased significantly in the last
five years, on average 8.7 percent annually. During the same period,
enrollment has grown by more than 26 percent, according to the
report. In fiscal 2011, MassHealth paid health care providers more
than $12.2 billion, of which 35 percent was state-funded, according
to the report.
Dr. Julian Harris, the state’s Medicaid director, said of the
report, “Some important issues were raised, some we have already
taken steps to address.”
Harris said protecting the program’s integrity is “paramount” and
said MassHealth officials disagree with some policy recommendations
made by Bump.
Bump’s office found MassHealth does not verify an applicant’s state
residency, relying solely on self-declaration. MassHealth only
checks someone’s address only when there are conflicts in an
applicant’s information. While complying with legal obligations, the
policy leaves MassHealth vulnerable to fraud, the auditor’s report
found.
In 2010, MassHealth spent approximately $6.5 million on services for
4,643 individuals who were later removed from the program because
they were not Massachusetts residents, received benefits from
another state, or state officials could not determine where the
enrollees lived.
The audit pointed to a case where one woman gave extensive
documentation of her Florida residency, and another of a family
visiting from Greece on a medical visa, but in both cases MassHealth
failed to follow up and investigate the “obvious residency
conflicts.”
The auditor’s report said MassHealth officials should ask for a
driver’s license, utility bill or other documentation to prove
residency, following policies in place in New York, New Hampshire,
and California.
Requiring a driver’s license or other forms of residency proof would
create barriers for some of the most vulnerable residents to receive
benefits, Harris said. He cited homeless people and others in
transitional living arrangements who would find it difficult to
prove residency, and could wind up being denied health benefits they
are eligible for.
“We would not want that person to be penalized, someone who was
disabled or was in a transient state of residence, we wouldn’t want
them to prevent them from accessing services,” Harris said. “We want
to make sure administrative barriers are not put in place that could
compromise access.”
Most states do not require Medicaid applicants to prove residency,
Harris said.
“We have a great deal of sympathy and understand many MassHealth
members have unstable employment and residency. But a failure to
follow up and ask even additional questions is a program failure,
and it is a failure to follow their own policies,” Bump said.
The auditor’s report also found MassHealth does not comply with
state and federal regulations by not verifying an applicants’
self-reported income. A MassHealth recipients’ income is verified
roughly one year after they are enrolled in the Medicaid program,
and already receiving benefits, according to the audit. In addition,
MassHealth does not verify unearned income, such as pension
payments, rental income, stock dividends or any lottery winnings by
checking information available from the IRS or the state Department
of Revenue.
The lack of verification creates potential for someone whose income
exceeds requirements to receive benefits for a year before
MassHealth is able to remove them, according to the auditor’s
report.
The Auditor’s Bureau of Special Investigations identified at least
18 MassHealth recipients who had annual lottery winnings ranging
from $8,977 to $159,987, without any change to their state health
benefits.
If MassHealth had implemented a data match process, it would have
been made aware of these members’ lottery winnings, and been able to
change or terminate benefits, the auditor’s report stated.
The auditor recommended MassHealth establish a data match system
with DOR and the IRS to verify unearned income, as well implement as
process with the state treasurer to be notified of significant
lottery winnings.
Currently, MassHealth does not match recipients with the State
Lottery Commission, but plans to discuss the potential of doing so,
according to MassHealth’s response in the report.
Harris said many of income verification issues will be fixed when
the state launches the Integrated Eligibility System in 2014 – made
possible under the federal Affordable Care Act. The Integrated
Eligibility system will give states better access to data from the
IRS and other federal agencies.
“That system will give us enhanced access to DOR, IRS, and other
state and federal databases that will help improve our” verification
process, Harris said.
MassHealth officials said eligibility for the Medicaid program is
determined annually with recipients demonstrating they meet
financial requirements each year.
MassHealth verifies income at the time someone applies by requiring
their two most recent pay stubs and requesting their most recent
federal tax returns. Harris said they rely more heavily on pay stub
information over federal and state tax returns because it is the
most recent, reliable information.
“If MassHealth learns that an applicant or member intentionally
falsifies any financial information used to determine eligibility,
that individual would be referred for further investigation to the
program integrity unit,” MassHealth officials responded in the audit
report. “If appropriate, a further referral for a fraud
investigation is made.”
By relying on pay stubs and not checking federal tax returns in most
cases, some people could be underreporting their income, not
reporting a second job or leaving off other household income, Bump
said.
“When someone is applying for benefits they present their last two
pay stubs. Far too frequently it seems MassHealth lets it go at
that,” she said.
State House News Service
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
State Capitol Briefs
Jones: Medicaid audit a "wakeup call" for those considering new
taxes
House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, Jr. [R-North Reading], said a
state auditor’s report detailing the potential for fraud in the
state’s Medicaid program should serve as a “wakeup call” on Beacon
Hill for Democrats who have left open the possibility of pursuing
tax increases next year. Jones called the audit released Wednesday
the “latest example of where Governor Patrick has fallen short in
ringing out waste and demanding accountability in state spending.”
Auditor Suzanne Bump’s report says thousands of out-of-state
residents could be wrongfully receiving state health care benefits
because MassHealth fails to verify their residency, while others may
be receiving benefits without meeting income qualifications. The
lack of verification in the program with 1.3 million enrollees could
be costing the state millions of dollars each year, according to the
report.
“Instead of proceeding with a tax and spend approach to addressing
the state’s financial shortcomings -- without telling taxpayers
until after the November election -- maybe Governor Patrick and his
Democratic cohorts should first consider eliminating any and all
waste, fraud, and abuse in state run programs. The failure to
account for millions of dollars annually within a state agency is
exactly why the idea of raising taxes should not be on the table.”
MassHealth officials said some of the issues raised by the audit
were already being addressed, but that the administration disagreed
with other policy recommendations made by Bump in the audit.
|
| |
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Citizens for Limited Taxation ▪
PO Box 1147 ▪ Marblehead, MA 01945
▪ 508-915-3665
|