Fraud Within State’s Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Programs Lasted 15 Years

ST. PAUL – Minnesota has been uncovering new cases of fraud consistently over the past year. But recently, lawmakers learned about fraud taking place within one state program that could have been stopped 15 years ago.

Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) is a program that provides vulnerable and elderly residents in our state with rides to medical appointments. But millions of dollars have been swindled from it due to the state’s failure to enact basic safeguards.

“It’s a program that apparently is very easy to scam, and has been for at least 15 years,” said State Representative Marj Fogelman (R-Fulda).

Fogelman noted the Minnesota House fraud committee found evidence of fictious transportation logs with recipients who do not exist. It also found billing for multiple individual trips when riders were actually grouped together in a van. Some scammers even took recipients to clinics that were the furthest allowed under the law (60 miles), bypassing much closer locations so they could maximize billing.

Fogelman said GPS units installed in vehicles could solve these problems. In fact, a report issued by the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) in 2011 said exactly the same thing as GPS could track milage and drop-off locations.

Since then, even though dozens of fraud reports have been verified, the GPS recommendations still have not been implemented.

How bad is the problem? Since being labeled as “high risk” for fraud last fall, data shows NEMT ridership dropped by 62% in the last quarter of 2025 as providers realized increased scrutiny was coming.

“If providers want to work for the State of Minnesota, installing a GPS unit in their vehicle should be a no-brainer,” Fogelman said. “That would ensure a needed service continues while protecting state taxpayers from millions more in future fraud theft.”