Swansenreport

Trump Freezes More Minnesota Medicaid Funds as Oz Calls Out Walz Over Rampant Fraud

The Trump administration has frozen an additional $91 million in federal Medicaid funding for Minnesota, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced Wednesday — the latest escalation in a months-long standoff between the federal government and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz over what the administration describes as rampant and ongoing fraud in the state’s Medicaid program.
CMS notified Minnesota in January 2026 of its intent to withhold federal funds until the state produced a satisfactory corrective action plan to address program integrity shortcomings. In February, Vice President JD Vance and Dr. Oz announced the formal freeze of $259.5 million in federal Medicaid matching funds — targeting claims identified as unsupported, potentially fraudulent, or tied to individuals without satisfactory immigration status. The National Desk
Oz said the administration would not pay bills it cannot verify. “We need to know that the providers actually are the real providers,” he said, adding that prepayment review is critical to stopping fraud before it occurs rather than chasing it after the fact. He warned that if Minnesota fails to clean up its program integrity vulnerabilities, CMS may defer more than $1 billion in federal funds over the next year. UPI
Minnesota’s Medicaid spending doubled across 14 high-risk programs in the past five years. The funding freeze affects approximately 7% of the state’s quarterly Medicaid funding, which officials warned could force significant cuts to services for disabled adults, low-income families, and children. Washington Times
Walz pushed back forcefully, calling the freeze “a campaign of retribution” and accusing the Trump administration of weaponizing federal funding against blue states. “Trump is weaponizing the entirety of the federal government to punish blue states like Minnesota,” Walz posted on X. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against the administration over the February freeze, and a federal judge declined to block the freeze while the case proceeds. UPI
The Minnesota Medicaid crackdown is part of the administration’s broader “war on fraud” announced by President Trump in his State of the Union address, with Vance and Oz warning that Florida, New York, and California are also in the crosshairs. “They’re not the only state that’s floundering,” Oz said. “Our goal is to supercharge program integrity over the next six months.” Bloomberg Law
Sources: CMS Press Release | Axios | CNN Politics | PBS NewsHour | Minnesota Reformer