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Committee adopts A9 amendment and sends House File 2354 to General Register to reinforce Medicaid fraud enforcement
Summary
A House committee adopted an A9 amendment to House File 2354 that would provide ongoing, special-revenue funding to expand the Medicaid fraud control unit and change penalties and statutes to better prosecute large-scale medical assistance fraud; the bill was referred to the General Register by voice vote.
A House committee adopted an A9 amendment to House File 2354 and referred the bill to the General Register after Representative Norris said the change would provide ongoing funding and strengthen the state's ability to investigate Medicaid fraud.
Representative Norris told the committee the A9 amendment pulls the measure out of a broader human-services program-integrity package so it can travel as a standalone bill, makes conforming changes, and shifts the appropriation to a special revenue fund to provide ongoing base funding. "We're fighting fraud on all fronts this afternoon," Norris said, noting a federal 3-to-1 match that the state can unlock only with ongoing funding.
The bill would increase penalties for medical assistance fraud at specified thresholds and align prison terms with other state theft laws, Representative Norris said. He described proposals to adjust the statute of limitations for long-running schemes and to include medical assistance fraud in the state's racketeering law to help prosecute sprawling frauds. "This bill does what Minnesotans expect us to do. It enhances our ability to investigate fraud and stiffens penalties for those who steal from government programs," he said.
Representative Pinto offered brief remarks thanking Norris and other members and chairs for work across the Legislature on fraud-prevention measures; Representative Clayborn also thanked Norris for carrying the provision, saying the policy had been agreed to previously by other leaders. No committee member raised objections during the floor of the committee discussion.
The A9 amendment was adopted by voice vote after the chair called for those in favor to say "aye." The chair then renewed the motion that House File 2354 as amended be referred to the General Register; members approved the referral by voice vote and the chair announced the bill was "on its way."
The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; action was taken by voice vote. The bill will proceed next through the House legislative process on the General Register.
