AUGUSTA — A federal audit released this week alleges that Maine made nearly $46 million in improper payments for community support services for children with autism.

The Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General looked at whether payments made by Maine Department of Health and Human Services in 2023 complied with state and federal requirements.

Part of what prompted the audit was a significant increase in payments, according to a summary of the audit report. In 2019, the state paid out about $52 million, but by 2023, those payments increased to more than $80 million.

The auditors request that Maine refund $28.7 million to the federal government.

A spokeswoman for DHHS said late Friday that the department wants to emphasize that the audit does not "include findings or allegations of fraud." Instead, the audit identified "potential documentation and compliance issues, which the state is now reviewing," according to the statement from spokeswoman Lindsay Hammes. 

In written remarks that accompanied the federal report, Michelle Probert, director of the Office of MaineCare Services, indicated that the state would review claims to check for compliance.

“To the extent those reviews identify overpayments, OMS will recover overpayments from providers and refund the federal share of any such overpayments under its standard program Integrity review and repayment process,” according to the letter dated November 2025.

In a statement, House Republicans said these types of alleged mistakes will jeopardize services for those who need them.

“This federal Inspector General’s audit confirms what Republicans have been warning for years: fraud, waste and abuse within MaineCare is widespread and can no longer be dismissed or hidden,” they said.

The audit came up on Friday during discussions among members of the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee, which considered a request from three Republican lawmakers to investigate allegations of fraud in MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program.

Sen. Jeff Timberlake, R-Turner, said he’s concerned about discrepancies at DHHS and wants government regulators to investigate.

“This is something that the department can’t hide totally behind a steel curtain and not let us see so we can see how they are spending the money and where they are spending the money,” he said.

The discussion comes just weeks after DHHS turned over an investigation into potential MaineCare fraud to the Office of the Attorney General. In that case, Gateway Community Services LLC of Portland is accused of fraudulently receiving about $1 million in payments.

The company has denied wrongdoing, saying that it upholds strict billing protocols.

After a long discussion, the Government Oversight Committee on Friday voted unanimously to ask the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability to begin looking into 16 contracts awarded by the state that lacked proper documentation.

The committee also plans to ask the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to explain its procurement process. In addition, the committee wants to hear from DHHS fraud investigators about how they do their work.

Sen. Mike Tipping, D-Orono, said he wants to get solid information before drawing any conclusions.

“I want the facts on this, and I don’t want to make any aspersions before we have them,” he said.