Mehmet Oz defers $91 million more in Minnesota Medicaid funds
mehmet oz said Thursday that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is deferring an additional $91 million in federal Medicaid funding to Minnesota, extending pressure on programs that pay for social services for the state’s most vulnerable residents. He said the agency told Gov. Tim Walz about the action on April 30.
Oz wrote on X that “Minnesota state-run programs have raised serious red flags,” and said a recent audit found millions of dollars went to illegal immigrants who were not supposed to be getting the coverage. Walz responded that the Trump administration was exploiting fraud in social services, and said, “Minnesota will not stand for this continued campaign of retribution.”
Walz and Oz on Minnesota Medicaid
The new deferral follows a February announcement that the federal government would halt $259 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota over fraud concerns. In March, the federal government approved a state plan to improve oversight, but earlier this month a federal court denied Minnesota’s request to block the deferral of the quarter-billion-dollar sum.
Shireen Gandhi, the Department of Human Services commissioner, said, “We are disappointed to learn that CMS will extend deferrals of needed funds for another quarter.” She added, “Nonetheless, the department will continue to fight against the criminals who target Medicaid programs.”
Twin Cities raids and audits
The latest funding action came after federal and state agents searched sites across the Twin Cities on April 28 in connection with fraud investigations. The state Attorney General’s Office said agents searched five locations of four metro-area autism providers and numerous child care centers, and said the 22 search warrant affidavits remain sealed.
No charges have been filed in the raids, but the searches add a separate enforcement track to the funding dispute already moving through state and federal courts. For Minnesota Medicaid recipients and providers, the immediate issue is whether the latest $91 million deferral slows the flow of money tied to services already under scrutiny.
