March 8, 2012

VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr. Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Attorney General Holder: Attached please find internal emails obtained by my office dated March 15, 2011, between Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson and Dan Pollock, then Legislative Director for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, copied to then Senior Policy Advisor to the Governor, Sean Rahn and Assistant Commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Health Care, Scott Leitz. This email is of the upmost importance because it shows the State of Minnesota is actively involved in: (1) the drafting of a managed care organizations press release regarding the return to the state of an overpayment in Medicaid reimbursements, and (2) characterizing the payment in such a way as to avoid refunding half of the $30 million overpayment back to the federal government. In the next decade, the federal and state governments will spend roughly $7 trillion on the Medicaid program. Like Medicare, the Medicaid program suffers from systemic weaknesses that lead to fraud, waste, and abuse across the program, resulting in higher costs and less health care to those who are in need.

I am providing these emails because they would be relevant to a Department investigation into Minnesotas Medicaid managed care programs. Should you have any comments or questions, please do not hesitate to Erika Smith on my staff at 202-224-5225.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley Ranking Member Committee on the Judiciary