Jodi Harpstead, former C-E-O of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, takes the helm today at the embattled Minnesota Department of Human Services today. She’ll appear before a state Senate committee tomorrow, and Ham Lake Republican Michelle Benson says she wants to know what Harpstead’s first 90 days will look like: “What action items will we see evidence of, so that we know that she is on the path to reforming the Department of Human Services.”
Republicans also have questions about the state’s Medicaid procurement process and the agency’s preferred drug list. Benson says future hearings will again focus on why so many top officials have left the state Human Services Department. Two top Human Services Department officials resigned last week, following the earlier departure of Commissioner Tony Lourey.