Committee advances bill allowing Health and Welfare to get tax data for non‑Medicaid benefits investigations

House Bill 62 would authorize the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to enter a memorandum of understanding with the Idaho State Tax Commission to obtain adjusted gross income information for investigations of non‑Medicaid public‑benefits fraud, a department official told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.

The committee sent the bill to the Senate floor with a “due pass” recommendation after a brief explanation and questions from senators.

Jared Larson, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Chief at the Department of Health and Welfare, told the committee the bill is “relatively simple” and is intended to allow the department to obtain straightforward tax information from the Tax Commission to verify eligibility for benefits such as TANF and other income‑based programs. Larson said the bill does not change the statutory responsibility for Medicaid fraud investigations, which are handled by a separate Medicaid fraud unit.

Larson said investigators currently rely on subpoenas to obtain financial information, which can be slow and incomplete. “It’s far less intrusive in people’s lives…to go to the Tax Commission where we can get the straightforward information rather than cobble it together with more private information,” Larson said, explaining the department has worked with the Tax Commission on the bill language and implementation and that the commission has about 60 memoranda of understanding with other public entities for similar data sharing.

Senators asked about the bill’s fiscal effect and practical impact. Larson told Senator Wintrow and others that the measure carries no fiscal impact to the department and should reduce investigative burden because investigators would not need to reconstruct adjusted gross income from bank records. Larson characterized most enforcement under this proposal as civil recoupment rather than criminal prosecution, absent other evidence.

Senator Harris asked whether the proposal would impose new burdens on the Tax Commission. Larson said preliminary discussions with the commission indicated no additional burden and that the commission had no concerns with the bill.

Senator Kaiser moved and Senator Ziderfeld seconded sending House Bill 62 to the floor with a due pass recommendation. The committee voice vote passed; the transcript records the motion, the second, and that the motion passed but does not contain a roll‑call tally.

The committee discussion and the department’s presentation distinguished these data requests from Medicaid fraud work and emphasized the department’s aim to streamline civil verifications of eligibility when investigators have reasonable suspicion of fraud.

The bill will next appear on the Senate floor for further consideration.