Fogelman criticizes redactions in report on autism services

A press release issued by District 21B Rep. Marj Fogelman calls out what she says is an "outrageous" move by Gov. Tim Walz's administration.

Fogelman noted in the release that the State of Minnesota recently spent $2 million to analyze potentially fraudulent activity in autism services programs. She said: "Lawmakers were expecting an in-depth update on the findings, known as the Optum report, and instead were handed a document that had been 90% redacted by the Walz administration."

Of the findings that were not redacted, Fogelman stated in the release, the Optum report found that 90% of claims billed for autism services may be fraudulent. The analysis also found the number of autism service providers jumped from 41 to 328 over a five-year span –- an 800% increase. That number continued to rise in the last year, now estimated at 500.

The Optum report also noted that the amount billed per recipient increased 3000% over five years and detailed how some providers were billing the State of Minnesota for services despite not even having basic information like a phone number or a website.