Florida drug-testing program costing state more than it’s saving

Someone should do a report on all the repugican 'cost-savings' programs that really end up costing us all more money.  Such as their great idea to cut illegal immigrants out of health care reform, while those same immigrants can simply go to the emergency room and get free treatment which costs the states four times as much.  Or this case in Florida, where they're drug testing welfare recipients, and found that the testing itself is costing them more than they're saving in welfare money that's been cut off to drug users.
So Florida's politicians put an even greater burden on the state budget in the middle of a nationwide budget crisis.  Brilliant.

More from the ACLU:

We've told you a few times about Florida's horrible new law that drug tests all families applying for cash benefit welfare applicants. The law, which went into effect July 1, makes applicants front the cost of the drug test and reimburses individuals if they test negative.

The ACLU and others predicted this program would be a failure and cost the state of Florida much more money than they would save. Guess what? In just the few weeks that the program has been in effect we have been proven right.

The Department of Children and Families' central region has tested 40 applicants since the law went into effect six weeks ago, and of those 40 applicants, 38 tested negative for drugs. The cost to the state of Florida to reimburse those 38 individuals who tested negative was at least $1,140 over the course of six weeks. Meanwhile, denying benefits to the two applicants who tested positive will save Florida less than $240 a month.