AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- A bill to authorize payments to people who report MaineCare fraud will get closer legislative committee scrutiny next week.
On Wednesday, the Judiciary Committee heard from a number of groups and individuals who praised the idea as a potential money maker for the state, and others who found the idea of bounties distasteful.
Lincoln Republican Rep. Jeffrey Gifford's bill allows payments for a person who brings action citing fraud in MaineCare. Supporters said the state could recover $15 for every $1 spent investigating those cases.
But critics said those pluses are overstated, and Maine could get bogged down in multi-state litigation that costs money. The Maine Hospital Association's Jeff Austin called it "profiteering" off law enforcement action, and the Maine Medical Association said Maine's not a hotbed of Medicaid fraud.
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