Pennsylvania to pay U.S. $48.8 million over benefits to aliens

Pennsylvania has agreed to pay $48.83 million to settle U.S. government claims it violated federal law by providing benefits to ineligible aliens under Medicaid and two other federal programs from 2004 to 2010.

In a statement on Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice said the commonwealth provided improper benefits under Medicaid, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.

The Justice Department said Pennsylvania violated a 1996 law that authorizes non-emergency benefits only for documented aliens who fall below specified income thresholds and have been in the country for more than five years, and that requires states to verify recipients' eligibility.

Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services did not admit liability in agreeing to settle.

Pennsylvania will pay the $48.83 million to the federal government in 20 equal quarterly installments from now through Dec. 31, 2019.

The Justice Department said the settlement helps insure that taxpayer-funded benefits are used as intended.

A spokeswoman for Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services said the agency "remains committed to protecting taxpayer funds and ensuring our most vulnerable individuals receive the benefits for which they are eligible."

Link:  http://news.yahoo.com/pennsylvania-pay-u-48-8-million-over-benefits-220808619.html

NOTE:  The amount of 48 million dollars is just "chump change" compared to the billions of dollars paid out to illegal-alien parents with American-born children who ARE entitled to welfare benefits, cash assistance, housing assistance, free healthcare, etc.

Most illegal immigrant families collect welfare:  Surprise, surprise; Census Bureau data reveals that most U.S. families headed by illegal immigrants use taxpayer-funded welfare programs on behalf of their American-born anchor babies.Even before the recession, immigrant households with children used welfare programs at consistently higher rates than natives, according to the extensive census data collected and analyzed by a nonpartisanWashington D.C. group dedicated to researching legal and illegal immigration in the U.S. The results, published this month in a lengthy report, are hardly surprising.Basically, the majority of households across the country benefitting from publicly-funded welfare programs are headed by immigrants, both legal and illegal. States where immigrant households with children have the highest welfare use rates are Arizona (62%), Texas, California and New York with 61% each and Pennsylvania(59%).The study focused on eight major welfare programs that cost the government $517 billion the year they were examined. They include Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for the disabled, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), a nutritional program known as Women, Infants and Children (WIC), food stamps, free/reduced school lunch, public housing and health insurance for the poor (Medicaid).Food assistance and Medicaid are the programs most commonly used by illegal immigrants, mainly on behalf of their American-born children who get automatic citizenship. On the other hand, legal immigrant households take advantage of every available welfare program, according to the study, which attributes it to low education level and resulting low income.The highest rate of welfare recipients come from the Dominican Republic (82 %), Mexico and Guatemala (75%) and Ecuador (70%), according to the report, which says welfare use tends to be high for both new arrivals and established residents.

Link:  http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2011/04/most-illegal-immigrant-families-collect-welfare/