Meeker County approves 2026 health and human services contracts amid questions on fraud, tech and provider funding

Meeker County commissioners approved the 2026 Health & Human Services contracts on Dec. 16 after a presentation by Health & Human Services Director Tina Schenk and eligibility supervisor Mallory Donald that covered contract terms, program counts and state-led changes.

Tina described the guardianship contracts (Lutheran Social Services, Prairie Support Services, Solid Oak), UCAP family-based supports, CCT transportation services and Woodland Centers purchase-of-service (POS) and CSP agreements. She told the board the county’s approach is intended to preserve service levels while allowing more flexible use of state grant “pots” so dollars are not lost when unused. She emphasized the county is meeting statutory maintenance-of-effort obligations for mental-health services and that no levy dollars are being used for the shifts described.

“Woodland Center is a great partner,” Tina said, explaining that the county reduced the direct line-item to Woodland because utilization has changed and the county can reallocate some grant funds to targeted case management where needed. Commissioners pressed for clarity on caps, the mechanism to add funds if Woodland reaches its $25,000 cap, and the county’s oversight role.

Mallory summarized caseload counts for November: 735 SNAP households (888 adults, 527 children); 156 people on family cash programs; 25 households on child-care assistance with 29 licensed providers countywide; and 1,602 households on standard medical assistance, with 789 on elderly/disabled programs and 461 on Medicare savings. She described the SNAP card as a debit-style EBT card limited to food purchases and noted rural access issues where small towns may lack grocery stores.

Commissioners raised broader issues: state-level restructuring of DHS programs, the need to modernize aging state systems (Maxis), and recent headlines about fraud. Tina said the large-dollar fraud reported in some headlines primarily involves provider or program-billing fraud, not typical county applicants, and described how Meeker contracts with Wright County for fraud investigation services under a state grant.

A motion to approve the 2025 (sic: 2026) HHS contracts was made, seconded and carried. Tina said Prime West (the local managed care organization) will attend the board’s January work session to answer residents’ questions about managed-care letters and coverage transitions.

Why it matters: The approved contracts fund mental-health outreach, case management, guardianship services and transportation that county residents rely on. Staff emphasized changing service patterns, the need for better state technology to administer programs efficiently, and oversight of high-cost provider-billed programs as an area of statewide concern.

Next steps: County staff will monitor Woodland Center utilization, bring any needed contract amendments forward, and host Prime West in January to address resident questions about coverage transitions.