Fed Up With the Fraud
By Senator Steve Green

Fraud is out of control in Minnesota. It seems like every week there’s something new. We’ve had fraud in Feeding Our Future, Medicaid programs, housing programs, autism centers, Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), and now there’s a brand new fraud investigation surrounding Minnesota addiction service provider, Nuway. When does it end? When is it enough?

Senate Republicans have rolled out a package of bills that aim to tackle fraud. We’ve been hearing from people across the state who find the fraud unacceptable. Frankly, I agree. It’s something that should’ve been addressed years ago, but Democrats have been dragging their feet. It needs to end.

The first section of bills creates oversight where it has been lacking. If an employee in a state agency sees signs of fraud, we want them to be comfortable reporting it. On the other hand, we also want to increase penalties on employees who fail to follow the law in reporting suspected waste, fraud, and abuse. Best case scenario, there’s nothing there. But on the off chance that fraud is occurring, we need to empower people to report so we know about it, and can address the issue before is spirals.

In tackling fraud, we also have to promote transparency in our government. A lot of people have reached out asking how fraud has gone unchecked for so long. It’s because there’s no transparency. Many things are hidden. Many agencies and commissioners keep details under lock and key. We have to get rid of that. We need more transparency in our Attorney General’s office – that would be a good start. Minnesotans should have access to know what cases are being pursued and why. We also need to create a way for following up on OLA reports. So often we see these reports come out of the Office of the Legislative Auditor, and the findings are unbelievable. But then there’s no tangible way to ensure the agency or program being audited is actually following through with OLA recommendations. We need to follow-up on these findings to make sure waste, fraud, and abuse is actually being dealt with in the places it’s found.

Another portion of our plan creates a process for grant reforms. Right now, a lot of taxpayer dollars go out in the form of grants. Because of the fraud, we clearly need to change the way we do things. One change we’re looking into is having a singular database of all grants going out, that one administrator is in charge of, so that way the information is easily accessible. This would streamline the entire process. We also have to push for stricter financial audits for any organization that relies on state dollars.

Under the Governor Walz Administration, fraud is hovering just over $500 million, and that’s a conservative estimate based just on what we know. It could be worse. Minnesotans are tired of this. The consistent fraud is a reflection of poor management and leadership. Minnesotans pay their taxes and expect the government to be responsible in how they use that money. That’s not happening right now. We’re also heading towards a $5 billion deficit, so there’s no spending our way out of this hole. We need to get the fraud under control. That means putting safeguards in place so that going forward, we can stop waste, fraud, and abuse before it ever gets a chance to start. As more details come out, I will continue to keep everyone informed on the subject.