Medicaid fraud investigations

by Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch
July 31, 2026

Two former directors of the state agency that oversees Medicaid fraud investigations said Friday that Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird’s newly formed fraud task force is “political theater.”

Dean Lerner and Kevin Techau, who served as directors of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals under Democratic governors Tom Vilsack and Chet Culver, said Bird, a Republican, is “leaving millions of dollars on the table” by not working to fully fund Iowa’s existing Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.