Vance to pause Medicaid funding in Minnesota over fraud concerns, gives ultimatum to Walz

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Vice President JD Vance will combat allegations of fraud in Minnesota by temporarily cutting Medicaid programs in the state, he announced during a press conference on Wednesday.

Vance, alongside Mehmet Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, announced the "Combat Fraud in Taxpayer-Funded Programs.”

The move is part of a larger Trump administration effort to crack down on fraud around the country. That effort comes after allegations of fraud involving day care centers prominently run by Somali residents in Minneapolis prompted a massive immigration crackdown in the Midwestern city, resulting in widespread protests.

Vance claimed there are hundreds of millions in improper or potentially fraudulent Medicaid payments in Minnesota, meaning some providers are billing the government for services that may never have been provided.

People are billing the government millions, tens of million billions of dollars, saying they are providing a service, but there's no actual confirmation," Vance said.

Oz said the government completed an audit for this information and it was sent off to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The two are giving Walz 60 days to respond.

“This is a campaign of retribution. Trump is weaponizing the entirety of the federal government to punish blue states like Minnesota,” Walz said. “These cuts will be devastating for veterans, families with young kids, folks with disabilities, and working people across our state.”

In an accompanying press release, the Trump administration said it is pausing $244 million in unsupported or potentially fraudulent Medicaid claims. They are also halting $15 million in claims involving “individuals lacking a satisfactory immigration status.”

Immigrants who do not live in the U.S. legally are not able to enroll in Medicaid. Even some immigrants who live in the U.S. legally are unable to enroll in the program.

During the announcement, Vance and Oz teased similar programs in more states. During his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump said that Vance would lead the "war on fraud."

In an interview with The National News Desk, Oz said that citizens of foreign countries are "weaponizing the process."

I remember in many instances there's no actual service given, but when service is get given, you're often hurting people. And we've had actions, as you know, in Minnesota and California and Maine and others which are coming where we know that individuals were denied care and even died because they were tricked," Oz said.

Editor's note: *The Associated Press contributed to this report. *

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