An Alabama Senate committee approved a bill that would require the Alabama Medicaid Agency and Department of Human Resources to cross-check eligibility for assistance programs. SB 61, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, would require the agencies to conduct at least monthly checks of enrollees of each program. According to the Legislative Fiscal Office, the additional work for both agencies could cost at least $16.7 million per year total for both agencies. The bill requires DHR and other state agencies to check recipients’ home addresses, death records and incarceration status on a monthly basis. The bill also requires Alabama Medicaid and other state agencies to check recipients’ income, employment and disability status on a quarterly basis. Supporters of the bill said that it is needed because of the state’s error rate for SNAP; when either DHR or enrollees make a mistake on paperwork resulting in too many or too little benefits each month. In July, DHR’s food assistant d...