Overview
- A letter signed by Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz directs Minnesota’s DHS to deliver weekly updates on audits covering 14 state Medicaid programs.
- The state is told to immediately halt new provider enrollments in those programs until oversight improves, with CMS prepared to impose a federal moratorium if it does not.
- CMS seeks a comprehensive corrective action plan by the end of December and says it may begin withholding funds after January 2026 if requirements are unmet.
- Minnesota has confirmed about $24 million in fraud so far—roughly $10 million in housing services and $14 million in autism therapy—while Oz has alleged losses exceeding $1 billion and a possible terrorism link, claims not confirmed by state findings.
- CMS cited steep cost spikes in Housing Stabilization Services and the autism therapy program, said it shut down the housing program and froze some provider enrollments, and noted separate federal inquiries including a House investigation and a Treasury review.