Staged video tries to expose Medicaid scam
Conservative groups in Maine say a secretly recorded video exposes the potential for fraud in the state's Medicaid program.
The video, produced by James O'Keefe, who has in the past targeted activist group ACORN and Planned Parenthood, shows an actor speaking to a Biddeford-based case worker in a Department of Health and Human Services office several months ago, according to the Morning Sentinel. The video was released yesterday by the Americans for Prosperity of Maine and the Maine Heritage Policy Center.
The actor in the video calls himself Ted Ceanneidigh and claims, in a faint Irish accent, that he runs a pharmaceutical importing business and has enough cash to buy a Corvette and pay for private insurance, but is seeking Medicaid benefits, according to MPBN. The case worker tells the applicant that without paychecks, he can report he has no income on his application, the paper says.
The man left the office without receiving benefits, and a longer version of the video shows the caseworker telling the actor she can't help him until he shows a photo ID, a passport or naturalization papers, the Morning Sentinel reports.
Gov. Paul LePage said in a statement the video does not reveal fraud but rather the need for better training. "The video in its entirety does not show a person willfully helping someone de-fraud the welfare system," he said. "It does show a need for further job knowledge and continuous and improved staff training."
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