After Minnesota Focus Feds Eye Medicaid Fraud Against Other States

(KFF/Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Image via Minnesota News Connection)

(By Mike Moen. Minnesota News Connection) – The Trump administration is signaling it might halt billions of dollars in federal health payments to multiple states over claims of fraud, mirroring moves federal officials made against Minnesota.

The specific target is Medicaid, the public health insurance program. The Trump administration recently warned it could withhold more than $2 billion in payments for Minnesota and claw back nearly $250 million from 2025. The threats might disappear after new oversight plans from the state were approved. However, KFF Health News reporting suggested the threats still heighten concerns about harming patients who rely on Medicaid.

Sumukha Terakanambi, a Lakeville resident with muscular dystrophy and public policy consultant with the Minnesota Council on Disability, said the federal push is misdirected.

“Of course we support going after fraud, but this overly aggressive action is missing the point,” Terakanambi asserted. “It’s not punishing fraudsters. It’s punishing the people.”