I hope to see you there! Fighting Fraud This is a point that’s been made, but it’s a point worth driving home: With the tied Minnesota House, nothing passes unless we work together. It takes good-faith efforts from both sides of the aisle to deliver accomplishments this year. In the Human Services Committee this week, where I serve, we were in our final scheduled hearing, working on our bipartisan finance bill dedicated to program integrity and fighting fraud. My DFL colleagues and I brought forward an amendment to strengthen the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). MFCU is a division within the Attorney General's office dedicated to investigating and prosecuting Medicaid fraud. The proposal would unlock 3:1 in matching federal dollars, adding more than a dozen investigators to the office. That means more fraudsters in jail and more public funds going where they need to. You can watch my colleague Rep. Norris describe it here. Republicans blocked this amendment, and it’s difficult to understand why. There’s enough time left to pass real solutions this session, but we can’t afford to waste any of it on political games. Fighting fraud should not just be a convenient talking point, it's an area where we need to deliver real solutions. Keeping Data Out of the Wrong Hands In Minnesota, it’s important that we have responsible data access laws. I believe in an open and transparent government, but in Minnesota’s Sex Offender Program, we’ve unfortunately seen a weaponization of our current laws. Individuals civilly committed into the Sex Offender Program are currently able to look up information about program employees and use these personal details against them. That needs to change. This week in the House Judiciary Committee, I brought forward my legislation to ensure the personal information of state employees doesn't fall into the wrong hands, and certainly isn’t used against them. |