ST. PAUL, Minn. – The state Human Services Department still lacks internal controls that are needed to avoid abuses in funding grants, according to a new report from the Legislative Audit Office The report was a follow-up to a 2019 audit that blamed lax protocols for $29 million in overpayments to counties, Indian tribes and health-care providers. Those overpayments involved self-administered opioid addiction medications through the department’s Behavioral Health Division. The Department commissioner at the time, Tony Lourey, stepped down after the 2019 audit. Louey had been in office only a short time and found such a mess that he wanted out. The Behavioral Health Division has 140 employees and manages 10s of millions of dollars in grants. The new audit, comprising 56 pages, said the Department’s weak internal controls leave the agency vulnerable to fraud and abuse.
