Legislative Update
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We just wrapped up week four of the legislative session, and boy is it flying by! This week at the Capitol brought another chapter in what is starting to feel like a familiar storyline: whenever the Fraud Prevention Committee starts asking questions, the Walz Administration suddenly gets very busy. The House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee held a hearing to examine the fraud report from Program Integrity Director Tim O’Malley and take a closer look at oversight failures within the Department of Human Services; particularly why a Medicaid eligibility verification program required by state law hasn’t been running. This program actually worked when it was in place. In just 18 months, it reviewed 580,000 enrollees and removed more than 37,000 ineligible individuals from the program. But here’s where things got interesting. The DHS officials who were expected to testify… didn’t show up. Yet just minutes after the fraud hearing adjourned, those same DHS staffers appeared in the exact same committee room—this time asking the Ways and Means Committee for more funding. So to recap:
That kind of scheduling efficiency would almost be impressive… if it weren’t happening with your tax dollars on the line. The hearing also included testimony from whistleblower Faye Bernstein, who described the retaliation she faced after raising concerns about grant compliance inside DHS. Her testimony raised serious questions about leadership and accountability within the agency. This marks the second time in a week the department has avoided providing testimony to legislative committees. Last week, lawmakers were also left without answers about the heavily redacted Optum fraud report. You can watch my remarks on the report below |
Dear friends and neighbors,