Billions More In Suspected Medicaid Fraud Discovered During Walz Administration
A top federal prosecutor said Thursday that the total scope of fraud in Minnesota could reach $9 billion or more. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said 14 Medicaid service programs flagged as “high risk” for fraud have cost the state $18 billion since 2018.
While investigators believe a significant portion of that spending was fraudulent, Thompson said the precise amount remains under investigation, CBS News reported.
“I don’t make these generalizations in a hasty way,” he said, per CBS. “When I say significant amount, I’m talking on the order of half or more. But we’ll see. When I look at the claims data and the providers, I see more red flags than I see legitimate providers.”
Minnesota Department of Human Services Inspector General James Clark said in a statement that speculation about the scale of fraud is “shocking.”
“If there is evidence of Medicaid fraud, the state should be given the information so DHS can slam the door shut on payments to those individuals and businesses,” Clark said, per the outlet. “We have been moving more aggressively than ever to suspend payments where we see evidence of fraud and refer criminals to law enforcement for prosecution.
“I’ve previously sent letters to the U.S. Attorney’s Office asking them to share evidence of fraud and I’m requesting a meeting immediately to discuss how we can partner to stop criminals now,” he added.
Thompson said the scale of fraud in Minnesota surpasses that seen in other states and threatens services for people who genuinely depend on them.
While fraud cases often involve providers inflating bills, Thompson said at a Minneapolis news conference that some companies were set up to deliver no services at all, instead siphoning federal funds to bankroll international travel, luxury vehicles and lavish lifestyles, CBS News noted.
“The magnitude cannot be overstated,” Thompson said. “What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering, industrial-scale fraud.”
Meanwhile, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz warned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Friday that the state risks losing federal Medicaid funding unless it restores what he called the program’s “integrity.”
In a post on X, Oz claimed more than $1 billion had been
