State Rep. John Roth (R-Interlochen) today released the following statement after the House Committee on Oversight heard testimony from the Office of the Auditor General regarding its audit report on the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI): 

“This is precisely why Legislative oversight matters. MDHHS was responsible for making sure its payments were properly reviewed and documented before taxpayer dollars went out the door. The Auditor General’s findings show that the department repeatedly evaded its responsibilities. When the department is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on no-bid contracts, we need clear documentation as to how that money is being spent. What exactly does MDHHS think it can achieve through its remarkable lack of transparency? 

“As much as it would like to, MDHHS cannot shift responsibility for these findings. The department had a clear obligation to verify the work, review the costs, and maintain the documentation before approving payments. It should be painfully obvious that it is completely unacceptable to approve millions in taxpayer-funded payments and then discover afterward that the documentation to support them is missing. Accountability has to come before the money goes out, not after an audit exposes the shameful extent of the problem.  

“It’s astounding that MDHHS needs the Auditor General to tell it that its payments must be supported by legitimate documentation. The department needs to stop making excuses, address these failures directly, and then demonstrate that it can competently and legally oversee the dollars entrusted to it. Based on their track record, I’m not particularly hopeful.”