Senate Bill 63 proposed new photo IDs with "smart card" technology for Georgia's Medicaid recipients. Supporters said the technology could combat fraudulent "card swapping" and "phantom billing" in the costly health insurance program for the poor.

But the bill's origins raise questions about whether the bill represented a sweet deal for taxpayers or a potential boost for a business seeking a state contract.

The system would cost more than $23 million to implement at a time when Georgia's budget is in dire straits and the potential payoff is uncertain.

The bill was not requested by the state government office that ferrets out Medicaid fraud. Instead, it was pushed by a fledgling South Georgia company in the anti-fraud business that got the ear of Sen. Tommie Williams of Lyons, one of the state's most influential lawmakers. The bill called for Georgia to use a fingerprint-ID system like the one sold by Blackshear-based Exodus Payment Systems.

Filed Under : Medicaid