Minnesota DHS Recruits State Employees for Medicaid Provider Site Checks

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is recruiting employees from across the state’s government agencies to help with “a massive statewide push” to ensure Minnesota Medicaid providers have the necessary qualifications required by law.

As detailed in a recent statement, the department has put out a call across all of Minnesota’s state agencies “to temporarily deploy 168 qualified workers to help revalidate over 5,800 Medicaid providers by [summer 2026].”

The effort is integral to the state’s attempt to “convince the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reverse course on a highly unusual action to withhold over $2 billion in annual Medicaid funding for low-income Minnesotans,” according to the Minnesota DHS.

Minnesota state government workers are being asked to assist with site visits across the state. While the Minnesota DHS has staff that typically carry out these visits, “more people will be called upon to get the job done on time,” according to the department.

Training will begin in February, with onsite inspections starting soon after, the department said, adding that providers in all of Minnesota’s 87 counties will get unannounced visits.

“Performing an unannounced site visit on every provider in 13 high-risk services is a major step forward in ensuring Minnesota’s Medicaid providers are of high-quality and meet the requirements of the law. We’re pulling in resources from multiple state agencies to make this happen as quickly as possible,” said John Connolly, deputy commissioner and state Medicaid director, in a statement.

“Minnesotans need to have confidence that the money being spent on these programs is helping the people it’s intended to help.”

The state is also implementing a number of initiatives designed to combat fraud, including enhanced training for providers and state employees to work on Medicaid provider training and education, and enhanced training for state employees who work on Medicaid.

“Even one dollar lost to fraud, waste or abuse is too much. It’s a dollar that isn’t being used to offer lifesaving or life-enhancing medical care,” said Connolly. “The State of Minnesota and CMS are both mandated by law to provide that care, and we’re committed to carrying out that mission.”