On Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Human Services announced the results of a federal audit, which showed the state made millions in unallowable payments to managed care organizations for individuals that are deceased. The state estimates more than $3.7 million in unallowable claims were paid.

“It’s no wonder people are losing faith in state government when we have yet another troubling story from the state’s human services department. This state agency serves millions of Minnesotans each year, providing critical services on which people rely – and all are affected by this sort of mismanagement,” said Senator Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson). “This follows reports of fraudulent child care payments, massive overpayments to our tribal governments, and a toxic work environment in the state’s largest agency – problems of which Senate Republicans have been sounding the alarm about for some time. We invite Governor Walz and the House of Representatives to join us in getting to the bottom of these problems.”

An audit from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed more than $3.7 million in “unallowable payments to managed care organizations for deceased enrollees in state health care programs between 2014 and 2016 … [in] the early days of a new computer system developed to help administer federal health care changes.” According to the audit, the payments were made because “the state agency did not always identify … death information” in its computer systems.

“Recent events have made clear that the Department of Human Services is not adequately serving the people of Minnesota. I expect that will be a major focus of the upcoming legislative session,” Senator Newman continued. 

Senator Scott Newman, of Hutchinson, represents communities in McLeod, Meeker, Sibley, and Wright counties in the Minnesota Senate. Senator Newman is chair of the Transportation Finance and Policy Committee.