The Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) today released a special review of the Department of Human Services work investigating Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) Program for allegations of kickbacks.

The report noted several findings, including the failure of the Inspector General at DHS to pursue investigations into allegations of kickback schemes when the complaint was centered solely around kickbacks.

“This is yet another example of a taxpayer-funded state agency failing to work in the best interest of the taxpayers they are meant to serve,” said Senator Michael Kreun (R-Blaine). “The Department knew about potential kickbacks, yet failed to act. This has become the new normal - failure to act is exactly how fraud has exploded in this agency. This new OLA report is yet another clear example of how DHS is failing in nearly every metric.”

Findings in the report include the following:

• Regardless of legislative changes in 2025, MN Statutes has long authorized DHS to impose sanctions for kickbacks.
• DHS’s administrative rules have – for decades – contained an error in the definition of “fraud” that limits authority.
• Until fraud is defined in administrative rule or applicable state law includes kickbacks, it is unclear if DHS has the legal authority to suspend payments to a MA provider while investigating credible allegations of kickbacks alone. (p. 2)
• Three complaints of kickback allegations were closed without investigation because DHS claimed it lacked authority to investigate only kickback allegations. (p. 8).  These cases were not flagged for future investigation or referred to another entity to investigate fraud in MA.

EIDBI Growth:

• The number of providers more than tripled from 2020 to 2024
• The number of individuals receiving services more than tripled from 1,400 in 2020 to 5,600 in 2024.
• The total cost of the EIDBI program has grown from $38.1 million in 2020 to $324.9 million in 2024. (p.4) This represents a 753% increase in costs.

“Findings like this are becoming far too common, and Minnesotans are furious that Democrat leadership has failed to act,” continued Kreun. “This is exactly why I have been vocal in urging the passage of the Office of Inspector General bill that I co-authored last year. There is simply no reason for these reports to be as bad, and as frequent, as they are. It’s time for us to take action by discussing Commissioner Gandhi’s role at the Department, and also pass the OIG bill so we have an independent entity acting as the taxpayers’ watchdog. This is not a difficult problem to solve, and it’s time for the legislature to act.”