Early this week Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne Bump reported that welfare benefits went to some 1,100 people who were dead, their guardians, or to others who’d pilfered their social security numbers. Governor Deval Patrick calls that infuriating. But he’s pushing back too — as welfare officials find that many of the people the auditor believed dead are, in fact, alive and eligible for benefits.
“It’s also infuriating though because the auditor’s report has an error rate that’s just astonishing, from what we can tell.”
Auditor Bump says she and the administration share the goal of ensuring the welfare systems integrity, and she looks forward to collaboration on the issue.