Advocates Say DHS, Spooked By Fraud, Neglects Its Responsibilities Toward Disabled

By Alyssa Chen, Minnesota Reformer

December 5, 2025

The Minnesota Department of Human Services’ effort to quash fraud has led to a new problem: Disabled Medicaid recipients aren’t getting the services they need and are legally entitled to, according to attorneys for the disabled.

Most affected thus far: People who receive Integrated Community Support services, or ICS, which help people with disabilities live independently in the community rather than in an institution.

The ICS program also helps Minnesota stay in compliance with the law, as set forth in the U.S. Supreme Court case Olmstead v. LC, which ruled that the unnecessary segregation of people with disabilities from their community is a form of discrimination.

Attorneys for people with disabilities say their clients are being cut off from ICS following DHS’s suspension of payments to ICS providers in an effort to crack down on fraud that has riddled some other programs. A Minnesota Disability Law Center client with bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, PTSD and ADHD was receiving laundry, cleaning and check-in services from her ICS provider for six months before her services were abruptly suspended in October from DHS’s payment pause.

“There was no real transition; they just stopped providing the services,” said Chad Wilson, an attorney for the Minnesota Disability Law Center.

A DHS spokesperson said via email that fraud prevention will “ensure that those who are most vulnerable can receive the services they need. We acknowledge these same efforts can cause confusion or worry, especially if a recipient experiences a disruption in services.”*

Fraud in Minnesota’s human services has become a high-profile political issue, recently drawing attention from President Donald Trump, who used the issue to attack Minnesota’s Somali-American community. Following federal charges against dozens of people alleging they defrauded a child nutrition program, an autism treatment program and Housing Stabilization Services, DHS moved to address fraud in other services, turning its attention to pausing payments in ICS starting in September and implementing a prepayment review process for 14 programs, including ICS, starting in December.

But DHS has gone too far and is now hurting people who need help, the attorneys say.

Brianna Boone is an attorney at the Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, an organization that represents multiple ICS recipients who’ve been cut off from services without clear guidance from DHS on how to proceed.

“Due process is the main thing I want. DHS should at least be explaining and notifying recipients about what is going on,” Boone said.

The Minnesota Disability Law Center has also been helping several clients neglected by DHS after being cut off from services. Wilson said that one of his clients didn’t receive clear information from DHS on how to get a new provider after the client’s provider was put under investigation in September.

Providers affected by the September ICS payment pause have not yet been told by DHS why their services were flagged as suspicious, according to Josh Berg, director of services at Accessible Space, a disability services provider. While his organization was not flagged, Berg said he has spoken to providers who were. Wilson confirmed that a notice from DHS sent to an ICS provider stated that DHS couldn’t give any details on why payments to that provider were being withheld exactly.

In a November statement, DHS Inspector General James Clark said that DHS’s investigations “have uncovered credible allegations that providers have repeatedly billed us for services that have not been provided. They are putting people’s health and safety at risk and that is unacceptable.”

The DHS spokesperson said in an email that the pause in payments does not prevent providers from continuing services — though they’d be doing so without getting paid while DHS investigates. DHS informs providers with paused payments that they are responsible for transitioning recipients to other care; additionally, DHS deploys regional specialists to make sure recipients get the care they need, the spokesperson said in the email.

In Boone’s view, DHS is not doing enough to notify recipients about what’s happening or provide assistance to transfer providers; instead, she said, DHS is relying on providers and case managers to pass along information to clients.

“Our clients are not hearing from DHS at all, so they’re just confused and don’t understand what’s happening,” she said.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..