Some people with substantial assets could be benefiting from health care on the public's dime. But the state Department of Health and Human Services is hoping to put a stop to that.

Beginning May 1, low-income families who are Medicaid recipients would be required to report their assets in addition to their income. Under current rules, a family could qualify for Medicaid because of low income and yet have tens of thousands of dollars in the bank.

The new plan, however, will require Medicaid recipients to report stocks and bonds, checking and savings accounts and vehicles. If assets exceed $20,000, the family would no longer qualify for Medicaid.

That $20,000 limit actually is quite generous, given that the new rules would not even count the first $20,000 in equity on the first vehicle against an applicant. The new plan also would not take into account a person's primary home and the land, qualified retirement plans and some life insurance policies.

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About 400,000 Medicaid recipients would have to report financial resources. It's unknown how many of that number may be shielding substantial assets, but it's important that the state agency work to identify those recipients.

Those who actually have the wherewithal to pay for their own health care are gaming the system and robbing it of limited public health-care dollars that should be devoted to vulnerable South Carolinians.