Trump admin pausing over $1B in Medicaid payments to Minnesota, California over fraud, compliance concerns
The Trump administration is freezing more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid funding to California and Minnesota over suspected fraud, with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warning Tuesday that...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Trump administration is freezing more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid funding to California and Minnesota over suspected fraud, with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warning Tuesday that states won't receive another taxpayer dollar until they prove the payments were legitimate. "If Governor Gavin Newsom or Governor Tim Walz wants this funding released, all they have to do is provide basic documentation showing that these services are legitimate and not fraudulent. And that's common sense," Kennedy said Tuesday during a press conference on the announcement. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is withholding roughly $867 million from California and more than $200 million from Minnesota while federal officials review what they described as high-risk Medicaid claims and documentation deficiencies. TREASURY INTERCEPTS NEARLY $99M IN FEDERAL PAYMENTS TO DECEASED INDIVIDUALS UNDER TRUMP FRAUD ORDER Kennedy said the Trump administration is using artificial intelligence, advanced analytics and traditional financial reviews to identify suspicious spending, adding that states seeking federal Medicaid funding must demonstrate the payments comply with federal law. "We are not sending Medicaid and Medicare dollars out the door until we have confidence that they are being spent lawfully and appropriately," Kennedy said. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said the administration's review uncovered repeated irregularities in both states, including claims submitted for deceased beneficiaries, providers previously flagged through fraud detection systems and spending patterns federal officials said were significant outliers. "If it smells like fraud, we're not paying for it anymore," Oz said. According to CMS, California accounted for the largest share of the funding freeze, with roughly $646 million tied to in-home supportive services and another $221 million associated with claims involving individuals with what Oz described as "unsatisfactory immigration…