IN HOME SUPPORTIVE SERVICES

IN HOME SUPPORTIVE SERVICESCLAIMS OF MASSIVE FRAUD ARE BOGUS
By Doug Moore 2:00 a.m. August 21, 2009

In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) is a vital, cost-effective government program that cares for hundreds of thousands of elderly, blind and disabled Californians in their own homes rather than in far-more-costly nursing homes or other institutions. According to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office, it costs taxpayers at least six times less to care for a person under IHSS than for institutional care.

In recent months, however, partisan ideologues, ambitious district attorneys and even some in the media have engaged in a campaign of misinformation aimed at weakening the program.

They claim that there is “massive” fraud in IHSS. They cite recent grand jury reports expressing concern about the lack of program safeguards. They breathlessly repeat details of individual cases of fraud. Some even imply that there must be fraud in the program because IHSS home care providers are represented by unions.

This smear campaign reached its low point on July 2, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told a news conference in Sacramento that the IHSS program is “riddled” with fraud. He cited claims that the fraud rate in IHSS was an unbelievable 25 percent. He bragged that eliminating fraud from the program would save “hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars” and help solve the state's budget crisis.

Following the news conference, the IHSS specialist in the Legislative Analysts Office, Virginia Bella, told reporters: “I've never had anyone tell me where that number comes from.” The Sacramento Bee accused the governor of: “Spouting misleading rhetoric about waste and fraud,” while the San Jose Mercury-News called his allegations: “phantom claims.”

Here's why: In Sacramento County during fiscal year 2006-2007, there were fewer than 400 reports of suspected fraud from more than 17,000 IHSS clients. That's a rate of only about two percent. Of these reports, 31 cases were deemed worthy of prosecution. That means the rate of prosecutable fraud in Sacramento County for that year was approximately two-tenths of one percent.

That's hardly a fraud “epidemic.” (Despite this, Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully was an eager participant in the governor's July 2 dog-and-pony show.) In San Bernardino County, a grand jury found approximately 60 fraud cases a year referred by investigators, in a universe of nearly 20,000 IHSS clients. Even if all 60 cases were eventually proven to be fraud, that would represent a rate of three-tenths of one percent. Even the governor's own “Quality Assurance” survey in 2007 found a less than one percent incidence of fraud in IHSS.

Sadly, the state Legislature bought the governor's unsubstantiated fraud claims hook, line and sinker. The regressive and unfair budget agreement passed late last month will throw nearly 100,000 people out of IHSS. But it also brands all the clients and providers who remain in the program as potential “fraud criminals.”

Under the budget agreement, all home care clients and providers must be fingerprinted — only amputees are exempt. It's a wonder the governor and Legislature didn't demand retinal scans for these unfortunates. In addition, all home care workers, most of whom make little more than minimum wage, must obtain criminal background checks at their own expense.

While any fraud in IHSS is wrong and should be punished, the facts show no evidence of “massive” fraud in the program. The projections of budget savings that will come from these so-called anti-fraud provisions are illusory at best. Yet the majority of Democrats in the Legislature chose to serve as enablers for the governor and his right-wing allies rather than showing the moral courage to stand with IHSS consumers and their caregivers.It is a sad day for California when we treat our elderly, blind and disabled citizens, and those who care for them, like common criminals and call it “reform.”

Moore is executive director of the statewide UDW Homecare Providers Union, which is headquartered in San Diego.