Press Release  Bump: OSA Work Has Significant Return on Investment

Boston — State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump today testified before the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, where she highlighted the return on investment of her office’s work, touted her commitment to accountability, and requested an increase in resources to further bolster the work of the OSA. She also noted that her office has identified more than $1 billion in savings and potential recoveries for the Commonwealth since she took office in 2011.

“My goal as State Auditor is to use our accountability mandate to make government work better,” Bump said of her request. “Through our work, we have not only a demonstrated return on investment, but also a proven history of making every dollar allocated to us stretch as far as possible. I believe that in order to effectively provide oversight to public entities, we must lead by example, and that is exactly what we have done.”

In her testimony, Bump highlighted ways that her office has provided significant returns on investment to the taxpayers of the Commonwealth. She noted that last year, the Legislature allocated $300,000 to bolster her MassHealth audit unit, as well as the fact that this unit recently found over half-a-billion dollars in unallowable, questionable, or potentially fraudulent spending and missed savings opportunities in the Medicaid program. She tied this finding to Governor Baker’s goal of holding MassHealth spending growth at five percent.

“I know you need to keep spending growth in check. In the MassHealth program, the challenge is especially great,” Bump said. “Governor Charlie Baker has a goal of limiting spending in this program to five percent. We are an invaluable resource in doing this.”

Bump requested an additional $757,264 for her office’s budget, with the vast majority ($711,527) going to the agency’s administrative account. The additional funds will support hiring an additional audit team for the agency, fully deploy their data analytics capabilities, and support their career ladder program.

Auditor Bump's full testimony is available here.

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