If you give it away, they will come

$118M dip into health pool ripped

Illegals, others use funds

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.

The report, a letter from Health and Human Services Commissioner Aron Boros last week to an Andover lawmaker who has been dogging the state for health cost data, says people without documents racked up $118 million in medical bills from October 2010 through September 2011, paid for through the state’s Health Safety Net program — funded by taxpayers, insurance ratepayers and hospitals and intended for the state’s indigent residents.

Boros’ letter also says that program coughed up $60 million for people whose claims paperwork did not include certain data — such as residency status — because of the confidential nature of their medical problem. That group includes victims of domestic violence and minors seeking birth control.

Total safety-net spending for the year: $412 million.

“That’s a lot of money. A lot of money that is going basically to individuals without any documentation. It’s time to level the playing field,” said Rep. James J. Lyons (R-Andover), who wants the state to tighten regulations to weed out free riders.

“If you open a business in the commonwealth, you’ve got to provide documentation of where you live and what the business is,” Lyons said. “If we’re providing benefits, all I’m suggesting we do is level the playing field. Don’t just give benefits out if we’re not requiring documentation.”

In October, the Patrick administration — under pressure after Lyons staged a sit-in in the House chambers — disclosed that nearly 55,000 illegal aliens received more than $93 million from the separate MassHealth benefits for emergency medical services in 2010.

A scathing March 2011 report on the Health Safety Net by the state Inspector General’s office analyzed the fund’s 2009 spending and found that $7 million went to medical bills for non-Massachusetts residents, in addition to $6 million paid for duplicate claims and $17.8 million for more than 60,000 dubious claims, including foot X-rays for patients complaining of headaches.

“The purpose of the Health Safety Net Trust Fund is to reimburse hospitals for care provided to individuals who include victims of domestic violence, patients in need of emergency treatment and children,” HHS spokesman Alec Loftus said. “The health safety net has been supported for decades by multiple administrations in Massachusetts and health safety net payments are down more than 40 percent since the Romney administration, thanks to the successful implementation of health care reform in Massachusetts.”

Joshua Archambault, director of health-care policy at Boston’s conservative Pioneer Institute, said Boros’ letter “points to a significant hole in accountability when it comes to spending state resources.”

“It’s just telling us we have a lot more work to do to make sure we’re spending taxpayer money wisely on health care. ... It shows we need more of a robust audit of this program, given the amount we’re spending.”