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Auditor General Jack Wagner, Democratic candidate for Governor, stressing the urgent need to reform state government, said his recent audits of the Department of Public Welfare reveal a desperate need for greater transparency and accountability in that agency so that Pennsylvania families receive the help that they need, especially in these challenging economic times.
I have made my pledge to Pennsylvania voters to ensure their government serves them soundly and efficiently. The Department of Public Welfare is falling short, Wagner said. I have sounded the alarm as Auditor General and will implement structural reform as Governor.
Wagner vowed immediate steps to tighten administration and oversight of vitally important programs to the state’s most vulnerable residents so that they fulfill their mission.
Wagner found a Department of Public Welfare program that provides cash assistance to welfare recipients seeking employment was rife with mismanagement and poor oversight, creating an environment for potential fraud and abuse that could cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
A separate audit found the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, through its county assistance offices (CAOs), failed to make proper Medicaid eligibility determinations on more than 1,600 Medicaid applicants between January 2005 and March 2008, resulting in $3.3 million in improper payments made on behalf of ineligible recipients. Of the offices sampled in the audits, the error rates averaged 14 percent for Pennsylvania, and for the CAOs with the highest error rates, they averaged 21 percent for Philadelphia County and 42 percent for Allegheny County.