Overview
- CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz told Gov. Tim Walz that Minnesota must deliver weekly updates on 14 high‑risk programs, halt new provider enrollments in those services, and submit a corrective action plan by the end of December.
- Minnesota faces the possibility of federal Medicaid payments being withheld for those programs starting at the end of January 2026 if required steps are not met.
- State officials previously paused payments across the 14 programs and launched a third‑party audit in October; Minnesota earlier shut down its Housing Stabilization Services program citing extensive fraud.
- The Department of Human Services has identified roughly $24 million in confirmed Medicaid fraud so far, including about $10 million tied to housing services and $14 million involving autism therapy, after costs in those areas surged in recent years.
- Federal prosecutions and probes continue, with reports of more than 80 people charged across several fraud schemes including the $250 million Feeding Our Future case, and a Treasury inquiry examining alleged diversions to al‑Shabaab without terrorism‑financing charges announced to date.