LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A state audit says the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services hasn't tried to collect potentially millions of dollars in overpayments made to recipients of food stamps and other public benefits.
A letter from the state auditor's office sent Friday to department CEO Courtney Phillips described a backlog of more than 12,000 possible cases of overpayments that department workers reported via email to what was described as the department's "overpayment mailbox." The auditors say they found nearly 21,000 referral emails as of May 4, but 60 percent hadn't been worked on. At an average of overpayment estimated at $543, that amounts to more than $6.7 million the state has not tried to recover.
Department leaders say they are addressing those and other problems with the department's business practices.
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