(C) Minnesota Reformer
This story was originally published by Minnesota Reformer and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Federal searches carried out in Minnesota in response to suspected Medicaid fraud • Minnesota Reformer [1]

['Izzy Wagener', 'Madison Mcvan', 'More From Author', '- July', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img']

Date: 2025-07

Federal officials searched several locations across the Twin Cities Wednesday in response to potential fraud in the Housing Stabilization Services program, the Star Tribune reported.

The search warrant affidavit alleges that the companies being funded by the program — which are supposed to provide housing assistance to vulnerable populations — took millions in Medicaid money while providing few services. KARE 11 spoke to one client who never met anyone from their service provider, Pristine Health, despite the fact that the company had billed Medicaid 46 times for its services.

Minnesota first launched the program in 2020, estimating that it would cost $2.6 million per year. Claims exploded, however, reaching more than $104 million by 2024, according to the search warrant affidavit.

The housing stabilization investigation is just the latest suspected fraud across a range of Minnesota safety net programs in recent years, from pandemic-era food aid to services for autistic children to transportation of patients to health care providers. The pattern is consistent: A new program or an increase in funding for an existing program — often lightly regulated — leads to an explosion of providers and billings.

Dozens of housing stabilization providers were already being investigated in May, KARE 11 reported. Legislators increased requirements for housing stabilization agencies in response to fraud concerns, including mandating further documentation of services and limits on hours.

Charges against the companies have not been filed.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/federal-searches-carried-out-suspected-medicaid-fraud/

Published and (C) by Minnesota Reformer
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/MnReformer/