What changed, and what didn't

Every reform Minnesota and the federal government have made in answer to the fraud, 2019 to October 2026, from the session laws, agency bulletins and federal records. Each line says whether it is law and paid for, law on paper only, an agency's own action, a federal action, or a proposal that died.

Enacted: 19 On paper: unfunded or delayed: 6 Proposed, failed: 3 Federal action: 5 Status unclear: 1 Agency action: 10

What to watch

The Inspector General law (2026 ch. 92) funds only fiscal 2027, which ends June 30, 2027. The fiscal 2028-29 money is a base figure the 2027 Legislature still has to appropriate.
No Inspector General has been appointed. The nominating commission planned interviews for late October and mid-November 2026; the governor's appointment is due February 1, 2027.
The Inspector General's own criminal unit, the Anti-Fraud and Waste Bureau, cannot be created until January 1, 2028.
The limitations period for Medicaid fraud is still six years. The ten-year bill passed the House 133-0 and stalled in the Senate.
The 2025 statewide payment-withhold power was used zero times in its first ten months; it was rewritten in 2026.
Electronic attendance for child care started with 75 centers in June 2026; family child care is not yet covered and later phases have no published dates.

An independent Inspector General

Enacted Independent Office of Inspector General 2026-05-14
Creates an independent executive-branch OIG (new Minn. Stat. ch. 15E) that oversees agency inspectors general, investigates fraud or misuse in any state-administered program, has subpoena power, keeps an exclusion list and may seek court orders to stop payments. A bipartisan Legislative Inspector General Advisory Commission recommends candidates; the governor appoints, with 3/5 Senate confirmation, for a renewable five-year term, removable only for cause after a public hearing with approval of both chambers.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 92, art. 1 (S.F. 856 / H.F. 1338) · Revisor; House Research act summary
On paper: unfunded or delayed Start dates and hiring 2026-05-14
Most of the law takes effect January 1, 2027. Commission recommendations are due January 1, 2027, the appointment February 1, 2027, and the office must be fully operational by September 1, 2027. The commission first met August 26, 2026; no recommendation or appointment had been reported by October 18, 2026.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 92, art. 1, secs. 15, 17-18 · Session Daily, Aug. 26, 2026
On paper: unfunded or delayed Criminal investigation unit 2026-05-14
From January 1, 2028, the Inspector General may appoint licensed peace officers and create the Anti-Fraud and Waste Bureau with statewide arrest authority in public-program cases. Until then criminal work runs through agreements with other agencies, including the BCA.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 92, art. 1, secs. 8, 19; art. 2, sec. 14 · House Research act summary, ch. 92
On paper: unfunded or delayed Funding 2026-05-27
Fiscal 2027 appropriation of $2,139,000 (raised from $1,875,000 by ch. 119), with a base of $6,562,000 a year for fiscal 2028-29. Only fiscal 2027, ending June 30, 2027, is actually appropriated; the base needs the 2027 Legislature.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 92, art. 1, sec. 20, as amended by ch. 119, art. 1, secs. 2-5 · Revisor, ch. 119
Enacted Agency inspectors general stay put 2026-05-27
No staff move from the DHS, DCYF, Corrections or MDE inspector-general offices into the new OIG; agencies sign agreements instead, and from January 1, 2027 final CCAP, WIC and Medicaid fraud reports go to the Inspector General. DHS must draft language codifying its own OIG by December 1, 2026.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 92; ch. 121, art. 11, sec. 6 · House Research act summaries
Proposed, failed The earlier House bill 2025-02-06
H.F. 1 (Rep. Patti Anderson) would have created an OIG and folded in the agency OIGs. It cleared several House committees but never got a floor vote; S.F. 856 became the law.
H.F. 1 (94th Legislature) · Revisor bill status

Time limits

Enacted Seven years for some fraud offenses 2026-05-18
Sets seven years (previously three or five) for false claims to a public body, theft by swindle, receiving stolen property, fraudulent statements and certain securities violations, effective August 1, 2026, including earlier crimes whose period had not run out.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 97, art. 3, sec. 4, amending Minn. Stat. 628.26 · Revisor, ch. 97
Enacted New Medicaid-fraud crime; period unchanged 2026-05-26
Replaces the old medical-assistance fraud crime with Minn. Stat. 609.467: up to 10 years, 20 over $100,000, 30 over $1 million, treated as a continuing offense and a racketeering predicate, effective August 1, 2026, with $1.23 million a year to the Attorney General. The six-year limitations period for Medicaid fraud and theft of public funds was not lengthened.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 127, art. 7 · House Research act summary, ch. 127
Proposed, failed Ten years for Medicaid fraud (H.F. 4425) 2026-04-20
Rep. Andrew Myers's bill to extend the period for Medicaid fraud and other thefts of government funds from six to ten years passed the House 133-0 and was never taken up in the Senate.
H.F. 4425 · Revisor bill status
Proposed, failed Ten years for lying to the auditor (H.F. 4664) 2026-03-25
Rep. Robbins's bill to set ten years for official misconduct and for false information to the Legislative Auditor, and make both nonexpungeable, received no hearing.
H.F. 4664 · Revisor bill status

Whistleblowers

Enacted Protection for every state employee (2025) 2025-05-23
Extends whistleblower protection to all state employees, classified or not, who report suspected fraud or misuse to a legislator, the Legislative Auditor, their employer, a government body or law enforcement, and defines fraud and misuse.
2025 Minn. Laws ch. 39, art. 2, secs. 23, 39, 54-57 · House Research act summary, 2025 ch. 39
Enacted Confidentiality of complainants (2026) 2026-05-26
Makes a complainant's identity private in payment-withholding data, and requires the Inspector General to run anonymous tip lines.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 122; ch. 92 · Revisor, ch. 122

Stopping the payments

Enacted Statewide withhold power (2025) 2025-05-23
Let any agency withhold program payments for up to 60 days when a preponderance of the evidence showed fraud; set to expire July 1, 2027.
2025 Minn. Laws ch. 39, art. 2, sec. 22 (Minn. Stat. 15.013) · Revisor
On paper: unfunded or delayed The 2025 power went unused 2026-03-16
Minnesota Management and Budget reported that no agency had withheld a payment under the 2025 law as of March 1, 2026. Over the same period DHS, DCYF and MDE withheld payments from 489 entities under their own credible-allegation powers.
Minn. Stat. 15.013, subd. 5 report · MMB memo to the Legislature, Mar 16, 2026
Enacted Withhold power rewritten (2026) 2026-05-26
From August 1, 2026 any agency may withhold on a credible allegation of fraud or when another agency is investigating, with the 60-day cap and the 2027 sunset removed; grants end immediately on a recipient's conviction; DHS and DCYF must publish annual program-integrity reports.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 122, secs. 1, 5-7 · Revisor, ch. 122
Enacted Medicaid withholds defined 2026-05-27
Defines a credible allegation of fraud for Medicaid withholds and provides a sealed administrative-law-judge review, with a fresh review every 90 days a withhold stays in place.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 121, arts. 3-4 · House Research act summary, ch. 121

Child care

Enacted Electronic attendance law 2025-06-14
Lets DCYF require child-care assistance providers to submit attendance electronically; effective June 22, 2026.
2025 Minn. Laws 1st Spec. Sess. ch. 3, art. 13, sec. 12 (Minn. Stat. 142E.16, subd. 7) · Revisor
On paper: unfunded or delayed Electronic attendance rollout 2026-06-22
Phase one covers 75 licensed centers that received over $100,000 in fiscal 2025 (KSTP reported 81 providers, under 10% of participants). Family child care is not covered and later phases have no published dates. A 2019 law had already funded a study of electronic attendance.
Minn. Stat. 142E.16, subd. 7 · DCYF release, July 23, 2026
Enacted The 2019 integrity package
After the 2019 auditor's reports: stronger limits on public funds, accurate and legible attendance records, a preponderance standard for disqualification, immediate license suspension on a fraud charge, and more investigators including BCA agents.
2019 Minn. Laws 1st Spec. Sess. ch. 9 · DCYF legislative history (Senate posting)
Federal action Federal audit of attendance 2025-05-21
HHS's Inspector General found 38 of 200 sampled 2023 payments noncompliant and estimated 11% of 2023 payments to 1,155 centers had attendance or payment errors. Minnesota agreed; all three recommendations are still listed as open.
HHS OIG A-05-24-00001 · HHS OIG
Enacted Provider compliance training 2026-05-27
Providers paid through child-care assistance must complete program-integrity training.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 121, art. 11, sec. 1 · House Research act summary, ch. 121
Federal action Federal child-care funding freeze 2026-01-06
HHS froze Minnesota's federal child-care and family-assistance draws in late December 2025 and January 2026; a federal judge in New York preliminarily enjoined the freeze in February 2026.
HHS/ACF action; S.D.N.Y. injunction · HHS release (search-indexed); news · from a search listing, not fetched

Kickbacks and grants

Enacted Kickback crime 2025-05-23
New felony of illegal remuneration for kickbacks tied to federal health programs, behavioral-health treatment or child-care assistance, up to 20 years over $35,000, effective August 1, 2025; DHS may sanction providers for kickbacks without a conviction.
2025 Minn. Laws ch. 38, art. 5 (Minn. Stat. 609.542) · Revisor
Enacted Grants training; fraud data-sharing 2025-05-23
Annual grants-management training for agency staff, and authority for any government entity to share data with another or with police when it concerns suspected public-program fraud.
2025 Minn. Laws ch. 39, art. 2, secs. 16, 41 · Revisor
On paper: unfunded or delayed Grantee fraud risk ratings 2026-05-27
The Department of Administration must set up a fraud risk rating for grantees, effective February 1, 2028.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 119, art. 2, sec. 8 · Revisor, ch. 119
Status unclear 100% tax on fraud proceeds 2026-04-20
H.F. 5040 would tax state money obtained through fraud at 100%. The bill record shows only its introduction; no enacted chapter was found.
H.F. 5040 · Revisor bill status

Medicaid programs

Agency action Housing Stabilization Services ended 2025-10-31
DHS announced on August 1, 2025 it would end the program because of widespread fraud; services ended October 31, 2025, and CMS approved the end of the benefit effective November 1.
DHS bulletin Oct 2, 2025; CMS SPA MN 25-0021 · DHS bulletin
Enacted Housing Stabilization repealed 2026-05-14
The statute was repealed through the human services policy act; the standalone bill H.F. 3379, which passed the House 134-0, was not itself enacted.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 95, art. 4, sec. 42 · House Research act summary, ch. 95
Enacted Autism (EIDBI) licensure 2025-06-14
Agencies enrolled before July 1, 2025 had to apply for a provisional license by May 31, 2026 or stop operating; DHS must decide every application by December 31, 2026.
2025 Minn. Laws 1st Spec. Sess. ch. 9, art. 6 (Minn. Stat. 245A.142) · Revisor
Agency action Autism licensure results 2026-05-31
433 of 481 eligible sites applied; eight sites that had billed Medicaid in the prior six months did not. New autism-agency enrollment has been paused since November 1, 2025, extended to October 31, 2026.
Minn. Stat. 245A.142 (implementation) · Minnesota Reformer (search-indexed) · from a search listing, not fetched
Agency action Governor's executive order 2025-09-17
Executive Order 25-10 directed tighter Medicaid oversight, prepayment review of high-risk providers and a statewide coordinating council of inspectors general; in December 2025 the governor named former BCA superintendent Tim O'Malley Director of Program Integrity.
Executive Order 25-10 · KSTP
Agency action 14 high-risk services; prepayment review 2025-10-29
DHS designated 14 services high-risk and began prepayment review that could hold claims up to 90 days, run by Optum under a one-year, $2.3 million contract.
DHS letter to CMS, Oct 27, 2025 · KSTP
Agency action Home and community services licensing moratorium 2025-12-02
From January 1, 2026, for an expected 24 months, DHS stopped accepting new 245D license applications.
DHS licensing bulletin, Dec 2, 2025 · DHS bulletin
Agency action Adult day licensing moratorium 2025-12-16
No new adult day licenses from February 1, 2026 through January 31, 2028, citing a 43% rise in licensed capacity against about 7% growth in Medicaid participation.
DHS OIG Licensing bulletin, Dec 16, 2025 · DHS bulletin
Agency action Enrollment moratorium, high-risk services 2026-01-30
No new Medicaid providers in the high-risk services from late January 2026, extended for 12 of the 14 through January 27, 2027 with CMS approval.
42 CFR 455.470 moratorium · DHS bulletins, July 2026
Enacted Standing integrity powers (2026) 2026-05-27
Standing authority for enrollment moratoria up to 24 months, unannounced site visits before revalidation, compliance training for high-risk owners from January 2027, prepayment review of at least 65% of fee-for-service claims from April 1, 2027, a moratorium on new ICS licenses from January 2027, and suspension of license holders under fraud investigation.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 121, arts. 3-4, 9 · House Research act summary, ch. 121
Agency action Revalidation of high-risk providers 2026-05-31
Of 5,583 high-risk providers, 2,061 were revalidated and 3,411 notified of disenrollment (2,491 paperwork, 916 site visits, 4 background studies); 59 were referred to the DHS Inspector General. Appeals are pending.
CMS corrective action plan milestone · CBS Minnesota
Agency action Data matching on eligibility 2026-03-20
September 2024 through June 2025: 77,200 enrollees flagged as possibly ineligible, 31,529 lost coverage (22,688 for not responding, 8,841 found ineligible). A 2026 federal-conformity change exempts adults on six-month renewals from January 2027.
Minn. Stat. 256B.0561 · DHS report to the Legislature

Federal pressure

Federal action CMS finds noncompliance; proposes $2 billion a year withhold 2026-01-06
CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz rejected Minnesota's corrective plan, found substantial noncompliance with Medicaid program-integrity requirements, and proposed withholding about $515 million a quarter. The withhold is stayed while a revised plan is carried out.
91 Fed. Reg. 1539 (Jan 14, 2026) · Federal Register
Federal action Federal Medicaid money deferred 2026-02-25
CMS deferred $259.5 million for the last quarter of fiscal 2025, about $91 million in April and $199 million in July 2026, roughly $550 million in all. Minnesota's suit (D. Minn. 26-cv-1701) lost its injunction bid and is stayed until January 2027.
CMS release; Minnesota v. Oz · CMS; court records via Georgetown CCF
Federal action Corrective plan approved 2026-03-19
CMS approved Minnesota's revised plan and set May 31, 2026 for revalidating every high-risk provider.
CMS letter, Mar 19, 2026 · Court filing attaching the CMS letter

Meal programs

Agency action Gar Gaar Family Services 2024-12-03
The Attorney General settled with Gar Gaar Family Services, which must dissolve, after finding more than $100,000 paid to a company owned by two officers; MDE had cited over $2 million in unaccounted-for 2021 meal funds. No criminal charges have been found, and no primary source gives the $23 million figure sometimes cited.
AG settlement, Hennepin County · Minnesota Attorney General
Enacted Education Department inspector general
A 2023 law created an inspector general inside MDE with subpoena power and authority to recommend withholds; the 2026 law moves those investigations to the statewide Inspector General.
2023 Minn. Laws ch. 55; 2026 ch. 92, art. 2 · Revisor
Enacted Attorney General subpoenas 2026-05-26
Gives the Attorney General administrative subpoena power in suspected fraud cases, including wage, insurance and financial records in public-benefit investigations.
2026 Minn. Laws ch. 118; ch. 127, art. 7, sec. 1 · House Public Information, New Laws Aug 1, 2026

Compiled October 18, 2026. Corrections: the address in the footer. The committee majority's own list of recommendations is in its report.