Fact Check: Was Scott Jensen one of Minnesota's biggest opioid prescribers?

(FOX 9) - It took several weeks to set up their first general election debate, but once Gov. Tim Walz and Republican challenger Scott Jensen took the stage in Rochester on Tuesday night, they wasted no time lobbing attack lines at each other.

Walz cast himself as a steady hand during his first term, which included the COVID-19 pandemic, the police murder of George Floyd, and the 2020 riots. Jensen, a family physician from Chaska, said Walz failed and the state needs new leadership.

FOX 9's review revealed several statistics and statements that didn't give voters the whole picture.

Walz: "When Scott was issuing opioid prescriptions, he issued more than 94% of his peers" while "wining and dining on expensive meals" with drug companies.

Walz's campaign pointed to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that show out of nearly 20,000 doctors in Minnesota, Jensen ranked 1,200th for opioid prescribing in 2013.

Jensen didn't dispute Walz's assertion during the debate. On Wednesday, he called FOX 9 to say he wouldn't quibble with the CMS data, but that there were mitigating factors.

Older family physicians like Jensen, 67, who have longtime patients with more medical needs are naturally higher in the rankings than doctors with younger patients, Jensen said. 

Jensen's prescribing numbers have gone down in recent years. Jensen, who successfully ran for the state Senate in 2016, said his practice has gotten smaller since getting into politics. He also no longer does chronic pain management, he said.

As for the "wining and dining" claim, Walz's campaign pointed us to four meals paid for by opioid companies. The meals, from 2016 and 2017, totaled $45.57. Jensen said he's stopped seeing drug reps for at least the past five years because there's "too much selling" involved. 

"I don’t disagree with Tim Walz -- physicians and the health care system have contributed to the problems," Jensen said during Tuesday's debate. "And in terms of going out to dinner and having an educational event, yeah, that could happen as well."

Jensen: "Gov. Walz just told you, 'I am proud of Minnesota's response to the riots of May and June of 2020.'"

At first, Walz and Minneapolis officials couldn't agree on the mission of the Minnesota National Guard, delaying the Guard's mobilization during the 2020 riots. Jensen has made the issue a central campaign theme.

During the debate, Walz gave a rambling answer defending his record on the riots. "I’m proud of Minnesota’s response. I’m proud of Minnesota’s first responders who were out there, from firefighters to police to the national guard to citizens who were out there," he said.

Walz later focused on the "I'm proud of Minnesota's first responders" portion of the answer, while Jensen said he would put the first part of Walz's answer into a future television ad.

Walz, Jensen said, was the "godfather of the crime epidemic."

Walz: Jensen "wants to remove the income tax. The bulk of that would go to millionaires like himself."

Walz accurately portrays Jensen's personal financial situation and his position on eliminating Minnesota's income tax. Jensen has proposed phasing out the tax over several years, joining several other states that don't tax individual income.

Minnesota has a graduated income tax, which carries a 5.35% rate for the lowest tax bracket but reaches 9.85% for married couples that make more than $284,810 a year. Those in higher tax brackets would therefore see more benefit from eliminating the tax.

Jensen has not released his tax returns during the campaign despite calls from Walz to do so. Wednesday, he confirmed to FOX 9 that his net worth exceeds $1 million.

The income tax generated $14 billion in revenue during the most recent fiscal year, representing more than half of the state budget. Jensen has given a variety of answers on how he'd backfill that, but has not released a clear proposal.

He's backed a half-cent sales tax increase. The Star Tribune reported that, in an interview, Jensen floated a tax on clothing and food. More recently, Jensen has backed away from supporting a sales tax increase of any kind.

"I don't see any sales tax increase," he told reporters Tuesday night. "What I see is an opportunity to have a conversation that we haven't had in decades."

Jensen: Walz "had a responsibility" to notify the Legislative Auditor about Feeding Our Future fraud. "He never did that...That's breaking the law."

In a letter to a Republican state lawmaker dated Oct. 12, Legislative Auditor Judy Randall said she has no record that the Minnesota Department of Education or Walz notified her office about the potential misuse of public money.

Federal prosecutors have charged 49 people and say the theft was at least $250 million, which they've called the biggest pandemic fraud in the country. 

State law requires public officials to notify the Office of the Legislative Auditor if an agency finds evidence of fraud, embezzlement, or unlawful use of public funds or property. But, in the same sentence, the law includes an exception: "when to do so would knowingly impede or otherwise interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation."

The FBI started working the case in April 2021, roughly a year into the alleged fraud.

But state education officials have said they contacted the U.S. Department of Agriculture's inspector general in October 2020. The USDA oversees the federal nutrition program in question.

The alleged fraud started in spring 2020. Walz and his office have given conflicting answers about when the governor was first briefed — as early as April 2020 or as late as November 2020.