A state audit found more than $52 million in improper Medicaid payments. The auditors flagged these as improper payments. The Walz administration kept the full report secret. They withheld it from lawmakers until after the election. Republicans say this was a deliberate cover-up. They argue the delay stopped them from acting. The report came from a third-party firm called Optum. The firm reviewed fourteen high-risk services in the state. It flagged massive errors in how money was spent. But the administration called these errors something else. They said improper payments are not necessarily fraud. They released a heavily redacted version in February. Lawmakers asked for the full document repeatedly. They wanted to fix the leaks before voting. The request was denied for months.
The timing raises serious questions for voters. The election was just twenty-nine days away. Republican Speaker Lisa Demuth pointed out the gap. She noted that no one was held accountable. She asked why the administration was hiding the data. The department claimed it was protecting trade secrets. They also said it prevented criminals from finding a roadmap. But critics say this excuse protects the politicians. They say it shields the administration from scrutiny. Senator Jordan Rasmusson tried to make the report public. He introduced an amendment in April. It failed along strict party lines. Democrats voted against full transparency. They chose to keep the details private. A version of his idea passed in May. It came as part of a larger budget deal. But the full report remained locked away.
Lawmakers finally got access last week. This was too late for the legislative session. They could not debate the findings in spring. They must wait until January to act again. Representative Dawn Gillman expressed her disappointment. She noted they missed the chance to fix it. The money trail shows a clear pattern of delay. The administration hired Optum in October 2025. This was months before national attention grew. Scrutiny of fraud allegations increased rapidly. It focused on specific programs in the state. This pressure contributed to the governor ending his campaign. Now the administration claims the report is outdated. Senator John Hoffman said laws have already fixed the gaps. He compared it to not publishing bank security flaws. But Rasmusson disagrees with this assessment. He says the report shows systemic failures. He points to weak eligibility checks and poor analytics. The state is far behind in stopping waste. The money is gone. The report was buried. Voters now hold the record. The facts are finally in the open. The delay was political. The cost was high.