Chapter 7 of 7 · 2026–
What Comes Next
An Inspector General funded only through June 2027. A limitations clock running out. And paid family leave, the next frontier.
House Fraud Committee adopts its final report, May 13, 2026 · full record
Source: Minnesota House of Representatives (MNHouseInfo) · watch the original on YouTube. Played here unaltered except as noted on this page; rights remain with the publisher.
In one minute
- The Legislature created an independent Office of Inspector General with law-enforcement powers. It is funded only for fiscal 2027, and its criminal investigators start in 2028. report p. 11 more
- Several fraud crimes now have a seven-year time limit, up from three or five. Medicaid fraud stays at six: a ten-year bill passed the House 133-0 and stalled in the Senate. more
- Paid Family and Medical Leave began January 1, 2026. The committee warned beforehand that its definitions were too broad; about 13,000 applications were approved in the first 40 days. report p. 67 report p. 69
“The Committee remains concerned that the definitions in statute are too broad and that DEED does not have sufficient oversight tools in place to detect fraud, particularly when leave is taken to care for someone else.”
The next frontier
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Minnesota's paid leave program began January 1, 2026. The House Fraud Committee held a hearing on it seven weeks earlier, on November 19, 2025, to flag the gaps before the money moved.
What the committee found
- DEED "refused to acknowledge any potential issues and repeatedly assured us they had thought of all contingencies." p. 67
- Employees apply to the state, not the employer, yet the employer must track leave, flag fraud and pay at least half the premium. p. 67
- There is limited ability to check earnings across employers or states, so a person may draw benefits while still earning wages. p. 68
- DEED testified it would usually not seek to recover overpayments, and would deduct them from the next year's benefits instead. p. 68
- Leave to care for someone rests on a provider's certification, with no cap on how many people can take leave to care for the same person and no mechanism for verifying providers outside the U.S. p. 69
- About 13,000 applications were approved in the first 40 days, roughly 325 a day. p. 69
What three committee members told Congress
On January 7, 2026 Reps. Robbins, Hudson and Rarick testified to the U.S. House Oversight Committee. Rep. Pete Stauber asked about paid leave. From the official transcript:
Paid family leave: Reps. Stauber, Rarick, Robbins and Hudson · share this clip
Does the state require the person I am claiming to care for to be present in Minnesota or even in the United States of America?
No, Congressman. That person could be anywhere.
Somalia?
Absolutely.
And they just assured us over and over, they have got it covered, there will not be any fraud, do not worry about it. But I have already had whistleblower reports since the program started January 1 of fraud. So, we are going to have to get a handle on this, and I think it is the next fraud frontier in Minnesota.
Just to put points that Representative Rarick put as concisely as possible. It is humorous but true that you could quite literally have a witch doctor approve your vacation to Somalia. That is how loose the rules are written.
Just Rep. Hudson: share the 27-second clip
Source: Official hearing transcript, U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, January 7, 2026, pp. 103-104 · watch the hearing.
The report states the concern more narrowly than the testimony: leave to care for someone does rest on a provider's certification, but DEED had no way to verify providers outside the United States and no cap on how many people can take leave for the same person. p. 69