Ellison outlines his plan to take on Medicaid fraud in Minnesota

(FOX 9) - Attorney General Keith Ellison is throwing his support behind a piece of legislation to combat Medicaid fraud in Minnesota.

Ellison fraud proposal

What we know:

Attorney General Keith Ellison and Rep. Matt Norris unveiled a proposal for a revised Medical Assistance Protection (MAP) Act, which would increase fraud unit staffing for the attorney general's office and give the attorney general new powers to combat fraud.

Dig deeper:

Ellison's revised proposal adds 18 dedicated, specialized staff to the AG's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which increases the unit from 32 staff members to 50.

Ellison also points out the feds match every dollar Minnesota pledges towards fighting Medicaid fraud on a three-to-one basis. So, Minnesota will only really need to pay for four of the 18 positions at a cost of $1.2 million per every two-year budget cycle.

The staffing increase also comes at the recommendation of the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

What else?:

The proposal would also change the definition of Medicaid fraud under state law to make it easier for prosecutors to go after fraudsters. Currently, Ellison says Medicaid fraud is defined as "presenting a false claim for reimbursement with intent to defraud."

"That's it," said Ellison. "Such a narrow definition is challenging for prosecutors because it does not capture all the criminal conduct that can be part of a Medicaid fraud case."

Ellison says the new proposal would ban acts like lying with the intent to defraud, falsifying records about the delivery of services, and destroying records when you receive a request from a state agency. The act would also increase the penalties for Medicaid fraud to match those of private sector fraud.

It would also give the attorney general's office greater power to subpoena financial records and increase the statute of limitations to better handle longer-term fraud schemes.

Fraud report released

The backstory:

Ellison's proposal comes two days after the release of a report by the man put in charge of combating fraud in Minnesota by Governor Walz. Program Integrity Director Tim O'Malley's report found failures in oversight dating back to the 1970s.

Former Minnesota Department of Human Services workers also raised concerns that department leaders urged "compassion over compliance" when it came to fraud prevention.

The report also pointed to an example of lawmakers undermining state employees' efforts to fight fraud.

The other side:

Republican lawmakers have also laid out their plans to combat fraud. GOP leaders are proposing the Fraud Isn’t Free Act, which creates consequences for agencies and commissioners who allow fraud to occur unchecked.

Big picture view:

Federal prosecutors have said that Medicaid fraud in Minnesota could total as high as $9 billion since 2018. Though state prosecutors have disputed that estimate, that claim, criticisms from President Trump, and the viral video created by right-wing influencer Nick Shirley have created an intense focus on fraud in the state.

Fraud also was a driving factor behind President Trump's surge of federal officers into Minnesota in December and January.