DHS finds another $3.8 million in opioid care overpayments to Minnesota Indian bands

Minnesota Medicaid officials said Tuesday they have identified another $3.8 million that was overpaid to two Minnesota Indian bands for opioid addiction treatment.

That brings the total amount to $29.1 million in overpayments stretching back to 2014.

The new amount reflects payments made in 2019 that had not been tallied in reviews of earlier periods. State and tribal officials are still reviewing records to determine an official total.

In May, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), which runs the Medicaid program, notified the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the White Earth Nation that they had been improperly billing and receiving payments from the Medicaid program for opioid treatment services.

The bands had been charging Medicaid for office visits using a medication that helps wean patients from addiction, even though patients had been taking the medication at home.

Since then, the bands have said that they were merely following billing guidance from DHS employees, and that the agency raised no objections to reimbursements that were inflated by several hundred dollars.

DHS officials have said the bands would have to repay the excess funds, although at times they have left the door open to negotiation.

DHS Commissioner Jodi Harpstead and tribal leaders issued a joint statement Tuesday that read in part:

"The figures that were released today are disappointing, but we are all aware that new figures would be revealed. We are committed to working collaboratively to reconcile state and tribal records, determine a final amount, and develop a plan for resolution."

The statement, issued by Harpstead, Leech Lake Tribal Chairman Faron Jackson and White Earth Chairman Michael Fairbanks, also said that they look forward to a pending review by the Office of the Legislative Auditor, which was asked to investigate the overpayments in July.

Glenn Howatt • 612-673-7192