A study by the financial website SmartAsset found that Minnesota’s largest county led America in receiving federal taxpayer money. The Center Square reported on the study last week,
Hennepin County in Minnesota has received the most federal spending of any county both in Minnesota and the U.S. overall in the past year and a half.
Details,
For total federal dollars, Hennepin County saw more than $286 billion in federal spending committed to it during the 18-month period examined. That is the most of any county nationally and accounts for about 4.7% of the roughly $6 trillion tracked in the study.
Hennepin County hosts less than 0.4 percent of America’s total population. To receive 4.7 percent off all federal spending represents 12 times the expected result.
Per capita, that comes out to $222,702 in spending per Hennepin County resident.
For those readers who live in the county, do you feel like you’re seeing any of that cash?
The story mentions a big military contract for a company in Plymouth. But nearly all of the money is tied up in a single category. The Center Square quoted the study’s author,
The largest portion, however, came through direct assistance, which totaled about $282.8 billion. HHS was also the largest awarding agency for that spending.
Nelson said the direct assistance figure was largely driven by Medicare spending, though he cautioned that the data does not necessarily mean that amount was spent directly on Hennepin County residents.
Instead, the spending appears concentrated in Hennepin County because the federal data associates the place of performance for Medicare with an insurer’s or contractor’s headquarters, rather than where beneficiaries live or receive care.
The study mentions by name the healthcare behemoth UnitedHealth Group (ticker: UNH), which is headquartered in the southwestern corner of the county. UNH does considerable business serving both Medicaid and Medicare programs for the feds.
But the study covered more than just payments to vendors,
It counted “federal funds committed to activity,” which included government contracts, procurement, grants, benefits and assistance payments. The totals do not represent money paid directly to county governments, but federal spending in the county.
But $283 billion out of $286 billion in a single category. In investigative journalism, we would call that a “red flag.”