Tom Hauser of KSTP TV ran a story last night questioning the origin and accuracy of the claim that fraud in Minnesota amounts to $9 billion. Among many others, American Experiment is using the $9 billion fraud figure to help explain why 58% of Minnesotans believe the state is on the wrong track.
Hauser correctly traces the origin to Joe Thompson of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minneapolis. Thompson said that “half or more” of the $18 billion in spending on 14 high-risk Medicaid programs in Minnesota was fraudulent. Asked and answered. KSTP could have concluded their piece right there.
But Hauser goes on to compare the $9 billion assessment against a ledger of money connected to fraud convictions, including the Feeding Our Future case at $300 million. His conclusion is that the money uncovered through investigations, arrests and convictions will likely never reach $9 billion.
I would argue those are two different numbers and should not be compared. And I think Joe Thompson would agree with me. I was at the press conference when Thompson delivered his dire assessment of fraud. The question he was answering when something like this:
“Joe, if your investigators can see all of this fraudulent activity when they examine the data, don’t the employees in the Walz administration see the exact same thing?”
Thompson agreed with that sentiment and his “half or more” prediction of $9 billion came during this exchange.
This is where the disconnect appears between the $9 billion assessment and Hauser’s attempt to account for every dollar connected to a conviction or investigation. Having received access to the Department of Human Services computer systems, Thompson could see that more than half of the activity was fraudulent. That doesn’t mean the federal or state government will ever prosecute cases that add up to that amount. I’ve also heard Thompson say more than once, “We prosecute people, not dollars.” A lot of the fraud will never be prosecuted. That’s one of the sad features of Minnesota’s fraud story: the sheer volume of fraud overwhelmed the system. As Thompson said in that same press conference, in Minnesota, fraud was the business plan.
Most Minnesotans believe more than $9 billion was stolen from Minnesota taxpayers through Medicaid fraud. Instead of following the court docket, news outlets should watch future state budgets, especially the Human Services budget. But only if state agencies actually stop the fraud.