Senate passes Medicaid fraud bill

The Senate on Monday passed a bill aimed at curbing fraud in the state's Medicaid program.

Senate Bill 63 calls for a pilot program to test whether the use of secure photo ID cards would prevent "card swapping" by consumers and "phantom billing" by providers trying to cheat the health care program for the poor.

The bill was amended after some senators questioned whether it was written to favor specific vendors. Some senators also questioned whether the plan would save more money than it would cost to implement.