Governor Tim Walz today announced that he has ordered a third-party audit of billing for 14 high-risk Medicaid services. Payments for these programs will be paused for up to 90 days in order to detect suspicious billing activity and scrutinize the use of public funds. 

Using funding passed during the 2025 legislative session, the Department of Human Services (DHS) has contracted with Optum, which will analyze Medicaid fee-for-service claims data and flag potential issues for DHS review. Optum’s analytics will identify irregularities such as missing documentation, unusually high billing patterns, or inconsistencies suggesting that a claim may not meet program requirements. The new layer of review will safeguard Medicaid dollars before payments go out.

More information is in the Governor's news release.