Monthly news digest from the Department of Human Services



Minnesota Department of Human Services logo [ [link removed] ]



NEWS FROM DHS



*October 2025*




*News from DHS archive [ [link removed] ]*





In this issue:

* Housing Stabilization Services program ends [ #link_4 ]
* Governor Walz orders third-party audit of Medicaid billing [ #link_3 ]
* Minnesota disenrolls inactive Medicaid providers [ #link_1 ]
* In social media: Text messaging [ #link_5 ]
* How is the federal shutdown impacting Minnesota? [ #link_8 ]
* Overdose deaths drop 25% in 2024 [ #link_7 ]
* Fact sheet updates [ #link_2 ]
* In the news [ #link_6 ]

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Housing Stabilization Services program ends

Minnesota’s Medical Assistance Housing Stabilization Services program will end on Friday, Oct. 31. 

In August, DHS announced its interest in terminating the program due to widespread fraud. The termination recently received final approval (PDF) [ [link removed] ] from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Launched in 2020, Housing Stabilization Services was a Medical Assistance benefit designed to help seniors and people with disabilities, including substance use disorders, find and keep housing. Medical Assistance is Minnesota’s Medicaid program.

“It’s upsetting that we had to take this step to stop criminals from taking advantage of services intended to help people,” said temporary Human Services Commissioner Shireen Gandhi. “We know that Housing Stabilization Services truly filled an important gap for so many participants. We’re working closely with partners to help them connect people to other services wherever possible.”

DHS is coordinating with counties, Tribes, Urban Indian organizations and managed care organizations to identify resources to help people impacted by the end of Housing Stabilization Services. Many of those resources are available at mn.gov/dhs/housing-resources [ [link removed] ].

More information is in a department news release [ [link removed] ].

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Governor Walz orders third-party audit of Medicaid billing

Governor Tim Walz announced this week 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.

“We cannot effectively deliver programs and services if they don’t have the backing of the public’s trust. In order to restore that trust we are pumping the brakes on 14 programs that were created to help the most disadvantaged among us, yet have become the target of criminal activity,” said Governor Walz. “If you attempt to defraud our public programs and steal taxpayer dollars out from under the people who need them most – you will be stopped, and you will be held accountable.”

“We’re taking a systematic approach to finding and stopping fraud,” said temporary Human Services Commissioner Shireen Gandhi. “Adding outside review before payments go out and increasing safeguards for these high-risk services will preserve resources necessary to serve Minnesota’s children, people with disabilities and older adults.”

DHS designated the 14 Medicaid services as high-risk based on programmatic vulnerabilities, evidence of fraudulent activity, or data analytics that revealed potentially suspicious patterns, claim anomalies or outliers.

Outside review of payments may result in longer wait times before providers are paid, while their claims undergo review. However, the state will still meet federal rules requiring payment within 90 days.

More information is in the Governor's news release [ [link removed] ].

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Minnesota disenrolls inactive Medicaid providers

Medicaid providers who have not billed for services in more than a year will be disenrolled from Minnesota’s Medicaid program, as the Department of Human Services tightens oversight.

The first round of disenrollment began Oct. 15, when roughly 800 providers were disenrolled. Impacted providers were certified prior to April 1, 2024, and have not billed since that date. This round of disenrollments did not include 621 inactive housing stabilization services providers because the program is ending Oct. 31.

“We must reduce risk and increase efficiencies wherever we can,” said temporary Human Services Commissioner Shireen Gandhi.

More details are in a department news release [ [link removed] ].

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In social media: Text messaging
October social post

Link to Facebook post shown above [ [link removed] ].

">> Follow DHS on X (formerly Twitter) [ [link removed] ] and Facebook [ [link removed] ] f"or timely updates on DHS news and events.""

">> For announcements of hiring events, job postings, internships and more, follow us on LinkedIn [ [link removed] ] and the "DHS Careers Facebook page [ [link removed] ].""

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Accessible formats

For accessible formats of this publication, write to [email protected], or call 651-431-2000 or use your preferred relay service.




How is the federal shutdown impacting Minnesota?
stock photo of groceries close up

As the federal government shutdown continues, impacts to programs are evolving. Here are some resources that you can check for updates. 

*SNAP, MFIP and Head Start:*


* Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) website [ [link removed] ]
* DCYF Facebook page [ [link removed] ]

*Women, Infants & Children (WIC) program: *


* Minnesota Department of Health WIC webpage [ [link removed] ]
* Minnesota WIC Facebook page [ [link removed] ]

*Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare:*


* DHS website [ [link removed] ]
* DHS Facebook page [ [link removed] ]

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Overdose deaths drop 25% in 2024
graph showing upward trend turning downward

For the second year in a row, Minnesota saw a drop in overdose deaths and hospitalizations.

Overdose deaths decreased 26%, from 2023 to 2024, while hospital-treated nonfatal overdoses decreased 19%. These decreases were seen in nearly every region of the state and across demographics.

The largest decrease in overdose deaths, 31%, occurred in Greater Minnesota counties, while metro counties experienced a 23% decrease.

Over the last three years the Governor and legislature have provided significant funding for substance use and overdose prevention, treatment and recovery for those experiencing addiction.

Learn more:


* Governor's news release [ [link removed] ]
* Statewide Trends in Drug Overdose: 2024 Data Update (PDF) [ [link removed] ]

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Fact sheet updates

The following fact sheets were updated recently:

[ [link removed] ]Minnesota Supplemental Aid (PDF) [ [link removed] ] [ [link removed] ]

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In the news
newspaper beside a coffee cup

*What to know about using or donating to food shelves in Minnesota: *Food banks and food shelves across the state are bracing for increased demand. KARE 11 explains [ [link removed] ] who is served by food shelves and how community members can help.

*Scammers target Minnesota SNAP recipients with fake $1,000 relief offer:* Law enforcement officials are warning of a scam targeting SNAP recipients. Learn more in a FOX 9 news story [ [link removed] ].

*Minnesota schools under stress as they try to serve students’ mental health needs: *While federal dollars have come and gone, Minnesota’s backbone for school-based mental health care is a DHS program, approved by the Legislature in 2007, that pays community mental health providers to work inside schools. Learn more in a Star Tribune article [ [link removed] ].

*Rural Voice: Owatonna faces the challenge of comprehensive health care in rural Minnesota:* The big picture on rural health care is grim. But if you zoom in to individual communities, the picture is tinged with determination. Listen to MPR's Rural Voice town hall episode [ [link removed] ] to learn more.

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