Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley says a review of the state’s Women, Infants and Children program found weak oversight and questionable benefit payments involving higher-income recipients, including some state employees.
According to the audit, investigators matched WIC participants with state payroll records and property records, identifying recipients with family incomes exceeding program limits and others living in homes valued at more than $500,000.
The report cites one family living in a home worth more than $700,000 and another in a home valued at more than $539,000 that continued receiving benefits after losing Medicaid eligibility because the information was not shared with the WIC program.
Auditors also found two reported fraud cases that were not adequately investigated, allowing nearly $3,000 in additional WIC purchases after concerns were raised. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services says many of the cases were technically allowed under complex federal eligibility rules, but Foley argues the findings highlight the need for stronger oversight and reforms.
“Having a safety net to help the truly needy is one thing, but when Nebraskans who own half-million-dollar homes and boast annual incomes in excess of $100,000 are able to receive many thousands of dollars of free benefits intended for the poor, it’s time to blow the whistle on this insult to our hard-working, over-taxed citizens,” Foley says.
“In what world is it rational behavior to shell out $1 trillion dollars in interest payments on the ballooning Federal debt while giving freebies to those with much higher incomes and assets?”