Trump administration announces pausing of nearly $260 million in Medicaid for Minnesota over alleged fraud

Vice President JD Vance and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz revealed Wednesday that the administration of President Donald Trump is suspending some Medicaid funding allocated to Minnesota as part of a broader effort to address fraud concerns within the state. "We have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that are going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligation seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax money," Vance said alongside Oz.

For his part, the administrator also emphasized that the measure is aimed at state leadership and not residents. "This is not a problem with the people of Minnesota. It’s a problem with the leadership of Minnesota and other states who do not take Medicaid preservation seriously," said Oz, who blamed Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for any potential disruption in services. Similarly, the former TV star also commented that "Any delay in services is going to be, should fall on Governor Walz's desk," and expressed confidence that vulnerable populations will not be harmed beyond the suspension of funding, explaining that Minnesota has a sizable reserve fund that could help make up for temporary gaps.

Nearly $260 million will be withheld

Under the decision made by the Trump administration, $259.5 million in Medicaid reimbursements will be withheld while federal officials examine alleged irregularities. Officials identified 14 programs as particularly vulnerable to fraud, including services related to autism treatment and non-emergency medical transportation.

Far from being the first time Trump has made such decisions, the fact is that earlier this year, the Republican leader also paused federal funding for child care providers in Minnesotaand deployed 2,000 federal agents to the state as part of a broader immigration enforcement effort, following numerous fraud-related indictments and convictions involving Somali-born residents.

Vance and Oz's announcement comes a day after Trump's State of the Union address, in which the president also singled out other Democratic-governed states, including California, Maine and Massachusetts, and attributed $19 billion in fraud to Minnesota and its Somali community. The Justice Department there has indicted 98 people, 85 of whom are Somalis, for $1 billion in fraud.