A bill to prevent Medicaid fraud was introduced in the state senate today.

This bill would make Medicaid recipients carry a card with a microchip containing their photo and have their fingerprints scanned each time they go in and out of the doctor’s office.

The bill’s sponsor Republican Senator William Ligon says new technology could prevent Medicaid recipients from card swapping and shopping around for doctors for prescription medications.

"Last year, the state recovered about 26 million dollars in funds that were fraudulently paid out but we think much more was slid under the table and we need to do what we can to recover that amount."

Ligon says starting up the program will cost about 26 million dollars as well. He says it would also prevent phantom billing by providers.

Last month, a psychologist in Atlanta was given two years imprisonment for bilking the system a half a million dollars in false claims.

Tags: Medicare; Fraud; Politics; Georgia; Williams; Medicare Bill