Gov. Mike DeWine signed 13 bills this week, leftovers from a flurry of legislation that passed last month before lawmakers left on summer break. The group of signed bills includes one that requires the state issue cards with electronic chips to SNAP or food stamp recipients. Senate Bill 315 bill also mandates that home health care workers paid by Medicaid electronically verify when they are working with clients and when they leave.
Using mobile apps, GPS or other technology for electronic visit verification or EVV has been discussed to stop Medicaid fraud for years, said Tara Britton, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy with the Center for Community Solutions. But she said there have been issues on implementing them.
“There have been issues raised during implementation that said, ‘hey, we live in a rural area, we don’t have cell service or coverage.’ And that makes it really hard to be specific on the times you check in and check out,” Britton said in an interview. “Those have been the challenges throughout the years as we’ve tried to do this right, in terms of protecting taxpayers from any of their dollars going toward fraud but at the same time protecting people who need services.”…