OIG budget request dropped from deal; leaders point to alternative fraud enforcement measures

During the update, a legislative leader said the OIG budget request is "dead" for this package and that the Senate had removed its OIG request from their other-bills category during negotiations.

The leader said the OIG package included roughly $9,000,000 in the first biennium and $9,000,000 in the tail, and that the House did not have that funding available in the negotiated agreement. "We negotiated a budget agreement with the Senate. They had OIG in their other bills category... the senate dropped their OIG budget request because there's 9,000,000 in the first biennium and 9,000,000 in the tails, and we didn't have it," the leader said.

Leaders said they are not abandoning anti-fraud efforts. The update said anti-fraud language was included in the state government finance bill, that the attorney general will do increased Medicaid-fraud enforcement and can leverage federal resources at approximately a 4-to-1 rate for enforcement dollars, and that the Office of Grants Management is conducting intensive oversight. Leaders said the fraud-prevention and agency-oversight committee will continue work in the interim and return to the topic next year if needed.

Some legislators expressed bipartisan concern about creating a new, stand-alone OIG entity versus enhancing existing enforcement. The leader said there is bipartisan support and opposition on creating a new office and emphasized using existing and enhanced enforcement tools in the current package.