Great Lakes Wire

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) within MDHHS is responsible for investigating fraud, waste, and abuse in programs administered by the department. It assists in maintaining integrity and accountability across all its programs. With the evolving landscape of public benefits, MDHHS OIG agents develop innovative methods to ensure efficient use of public resources in Michigan.

The OIG comprises three divisions: Integrity, which focuses on Medicaid providers; Enforcement, which targets recipients/vendors and non-Medicaid providers; and Operations, which manages administrative tasks, investigative analytics, policy, and training. Agents and managers are strategically positioned 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, beginning as assistant to the Inspector General in 2011. Before accepting her new position, she served as the integrity division director since 2016. Her previous roles include corporate senior auditor at PepsiCo, internal audit supervisor at the Pepsi Bottling Group, and assistant auditor general in Michigan’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.”