Minnesota lawmakers are already working on the fraud crisis in week two of the legislative session.
On Monday morning, Human Services Commissioner Shareen Ghandi testified in the Fraud Prevention and State Agency Policy Oversight Committee.
She says the state's medicaid program is under attack, after the agency made a decision to withhold $2 billion in funding for Minnesota.
"This type of withhold is unprecedented and does not reflect the substantial work Minnesota has undertaken over the last year in coordination with the federal agency," Ghandi said.
Ghandi was just announced as the new permanent head of Minnesota's Human Services Department, being officially appointed by Gov. Tim Walz prior to going before the committee Monday. Ghandi had been serving in an interim capacity.
"We are appealing the decision and on January 30th submitted a revised plan that incorporates CMS's recommendations," Ghandi added. "And goes above and beyond strengthening programs, reducing risk, and improving our ability to detect and stop fraud more quickly."
Another report on Monday claimed Minnesota’s fraud issues have been going on for decades, even as far back as the 1970s.
Minnesota's Integrity Director Tim O’Malley says a systemic "compassion over compliance" mindset allowed criminal exploitation to balloon.
Both Republican and Democrat lawmakers have said fixing fraud issues is a priority for this year's session.