Lawmakers on Friday directed the state to conduct an independent review of an office tasked with overseeing the integrity of the MaineCare program, taking the step following a series of fraud allegations.

In a 7-0 vote, the Government Oversight Committee authorized a “risk assessment” for the MaineCare Program Integrity Unit, which is housed in the Department of Health and Human Services.

The review, to be conducted by the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, an independent oversight agency, will look at issues such as staffing, technology and the ability of the unit to analyze data and trends, Director Peter Schleck told the committee.

“It could give you sort of a report card on the relative health of that office,” he said.

Friday’s vote came after Republican senators on the committee asked in January for an investigation into Maine DHHS, citing the agency’s recent decision to suspend MaineCare payments to Portland-based Gateway Community Services amid fraud allegations.

The senators also asked for a review of noncompetitive contracts awarded across state government, which the committee authorized a few weeks later.

Lindsay Hammes, a spokesperson for DHHS, said in an email Friday that the department will “fully cooperate” with the review “to help ensure the Government Oversight Committee has a clear understanding of the scope of work and function of MaineCare’s Program Integrity Unit.”

In December, the agency said it had referred the Gateway case to the Office of the Maine Attorney General for investigation, a step it takes when fraud is suspected.

That case has drawn comparisons to a social services fraud scheme in Minnesota in which dozens of people have been convicted, primarily due to links in both instances to the Somali American community. Gateway is founded and run by Abdullahi Ali, a Somali immigrant.

In his State of the Union address this week, President Donald Trump accused members of Maine’s Somali community of committing fraud on a level that’s “even worse” than what happened in Minnesota.

Maine Republicans have also highlighted a federal audit released in January that found at least $45.6 million in improper MaineCare payments were made for support services to children with autism in 2023. State officials have said the report did not include any findings or allegations of fraud, though it did highlight potential documentation issues.

The MaineCare Program Integrity Unit is tasked with monitoring and safeguarding Maine’s Medicaid program against fraud, waste and abuse. On Friday, Schleck pointed lawmakers to a 2009 report in which his office recommended that DHHS take steps to strengthen the unit and its ability to follow up on the issues it finds.

He said now may be a good time to evaluate the program again. “OPEGA is not going to be able to do a forensic audit of $5 billion worth of claims for you,” he told lawmakers. “But we can very well look at the infrastructure and say, ‘Where’s you’re staffing? What is the technology doing? What are your challenges?’ and report that back.”

Schleck noted that it could take as long as until next year before the assessment is done, given other work lawmakers have already directed his office to take on.

While Republicans stressed the importance of the MaineCare issue, the committee did not take any action to move the risk assessment ahead of other work. Committee Chair Sen. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, noted, however, that they could always reconsider.

“We can do that, but I think for now we need to finish what we’ve started so far,” he said.