Michigan Has Discovered Over 3,500 Lottery Winners Who Also Collect Welfare

The headline wasn't specific to Michigan, but I was  curious as to what state would let lottery winners also collect welfare benefits so I read the story. You guessed it...that state is our very own Michigan.

Michigan's Department of Human Resources announced on Monday that it had discovered 3,544 lottery winners who were receiving public assistance or living with someone who was in 2012. Only 16%, or 565 of those lottery winners can be removed from public assistance. The other 84% will continue to receive state aid because of "loopholes" and "glitches" in the rules for cutting off assistance and state funded medical care.

Maura Corrigan, DHS Director is recommending that Michigan lawmakers look into adopting a law that is similiar to one in New York in which the state can "intercept" lottery winnings from people also collecting state aid to repay taxpayers.

Let the comments fly! Should lottery winners continue to be eligible for welfare, food assistance and Medicaid? Should the decision to cut a person off depend on how much they win? Should lottery winnings be intercepted to repay the state?