Policy and Practice August 2016

48 / 78

This holistic
concept of a
National Accuracy
Clearinghouse is
building upon the
successeswith
SNAP and D-SNAP to
provide a unified
approach through
identity-driven
solutions to ensure
the efficiency and
sustainability of
public assistance
programs.
Policy&PracticeAugust 2016 48
NAC continued from page 25
statistics. Similarly, Alabama has also
experienced a 74 percent decrease.
The NAC partner states are leading
the way and demonstrating the
importance and value of sharing infor-
mation for vetting public assistance
applications nationwide. Beginning
in 2015, other states began expressing
interest in realizing their own returns
by participating in the NAC solution.
Each new state that joins will have
to become contributing members of
the consortium, but the more states
and different programs that partici-
pate, the more valuable the system
becomes. States joining the NAC
program will enter into an agreement
to participate, pay an “up-front fee” to
join and an annual fee thereafter, and
be guided through a comprehensive
onboarding process based on best-
practice models identified from the
existing five-state consortium.
While the NAC is currently working
to improve integrity in SNAP and
D-SNAP, it has been undergoing devel-
opment for use more broadly and has
started receiving files from programs
such as Medicaid, TANF, and CHIP—
offering a ready design to aid these
other HHS programs and provide sub-
stantial savings.
This holistic concept of a National
Accuracy Clearinghouse is building
upon the successes with SNAP and
D-SNAP to provide a unified approach
through identity-driven solutions to
ensure the efficiency and sustain-
ability of public assistance programs.
In fact, the NAC invites states to work
with the consortium states, FNS, the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, and other relevant agencies
to include additional programs in the
solution, as well as additional identity
verification and fraud prevention
tools that can support their business
processes.
Combatting the Challenge
The problem of dual participation in
public assistance programs—whether
accidental or intentional—drains
critical resources. The NAC was
created to combat this challenge. As
a contributory system of beneficiary
information across states, it provides
states with immediate and actionable
identity intelligence with the goal of
reducing duplicate benefit issuance
and improving program access.
By sharing information between
states, it is easier to ensure that funds
only go to eligible recipients. The hope
is that this innovative solution will
soon be providing value and intel-
ligence nationwide to all HHS public
assistance programs.
The NAC, of course, will not resolve
all fraud across all benefits programs,
but it solidly addresses the key issue of
dual participation. By protecting access
and eligibility for legitimate applicants
and participants, NAC is streamlining
agency application process, increasing
accuracy, and bringing benefits back to
the citizens who need them most.
Source: Public Consulting Group, National
Accuracy Clearinghouse Evaluation Reports
Reference Note
1.
wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/06/
AR2006060601729.html