Stacie Sampson named new MDHHS Inspector General

LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced today that Stacie Sampson is the new Inspector General of MDHHS.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is the criminal justice agency within MDHHS and is charged with investigating fraud, waste and abuse in programs administered by MDHHS, and assisting the department in maintaining integrity and accountability in the administration of all its programs. With an ever-changing landscape of public benefits, MDHHS OIG agents develop innovative and creative ways to ensure appropriate and efficient use of available public resources in the state of Michigan.

Within MDHHS OIG, there are three divisions: Integrity, which focuses on Medicaid providers; Enforcement, which focuses on recipients/vendors and non-Medicaid providers; and Operations, which handles administrative, investigative analytics and policy and training. MDHHS OIG agents and their managers are strategically located throughout the state.

"Stacie has proven to be an innovative and high-performing audit and fraud investigation director with 25 years of experience," said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director. "During her time with MDHHS, she has shown solid strategic planning, analytical thinking and creative problem-solving skills with an outstanding finance background."

Sampson has been with MDHHS for nearly 13 years, all in MDHHS OIG, starting as assistant to the Inspector General in 2011 and, before accepting her new position, served as MDHHS OIG's integrity division director since 2016. Prior to this, she served as a corporate senior auditor at PepsiCo, internal audit supervisor at the Pepsi Bottling Group and an assistant auditor general in the state's Office of the Auditor General.

She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from the School of Management at the University of Michigan-Flint.

Sampson replaces Al Kimichik, who retired in April after serving as the longest serving Inspector General in the U.S. with 22 years in the role.

"We wish Al well in his retirement," said Hertel. "During his many years of service to the department and state, he successfully oversaw numerous investigations helping to ensure taxpayer dollars were being used correctly. He also developed and implemented a statewide fraud prevention program, resulting in millions of dollars of taxpayer savings and cost avoidance, while improving public assistance program integrity."

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