Reynolds, Bird Failed to Use Existing State Resources

Two former Iowa officials with extensive experience investigating health care fraud argue that Gov. Kim Reynolds and Attorney General Brenna Bird’s new Medicaid Fraud Elimination Task Force is more political theater than practical enforcement.

Writing in the Des Moines Register, former U.S. Attorney Kevin Techau and former Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals Director Dean Lerner explain that Iowa already has a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, a False Claims Act and established partnerships with state and federal prosecutors. The problem, they contend, is not a lack of authority or another task force. It is the state’s failure to adequately support and use the systems already in place.

They point to a 2022 federal report that found Iowa’s fraud unit had low staffing, investigator turnover and high caseloads. In 2025, Iowa reportedly spent only $1.3 million on a 10-person unit overseeing an $8.7 billion Medicaid program, which was far less than Arkansas spent on a comparable program.

Techau and Lerner recommend fully funding the existing fraud unit, enforcing the Iowa False Claims Act, improving investigative technology, restoring a statewide fraud hotline and including independent watchdogs such as the state auditor. Their conclusion is straightforward: Iowa does not need another politically staged task force. It needs state leaders to invest in the experienced fraud fighters Iowa already has.

Read the full guest editorial in the Des Moines Register.