Trump admin to audit Minnesota Medicaid receipts, defer payment to 14 programs

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WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 18: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz speaks during an announcement at the Department of Health and Human Services on December 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration held an e

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(FOX 9) - The Trump administration announced Tuesday it will start auditing Minnesota Medicaid receipts and defer payments to 14 high-risk programs. 

Minnesota fraud

The backstory:

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a Jan. 6 letter to Gov. Tim Walz that CMS will start reviewing the state’s quarterly Medicaid spending reports and defer funding based on findings of fraud, waste and abuse. 

"We will begin auditing Medicaid receipts and defer paying on claims based on fraud, waste, and abuse," Oz said in a video released Tuesday. "Until we can verify what is legitimate, we’re going to defer payments for the 14 programs that the state itself identified as rife with fraud."

The announcement follows a December directive from CMS requiring the Walz administration to submit a comprehensive corrective action plan by the end of 2025 outlining timelines and measures that the Minnesota Department of Human Services plans to implement. Oz said the plan, submitted late on New Year’s Eve, was found to be "deeply insufficient." 

According to CMS, the 14 programs under review account for approximately $3.75 billion annually in federal and state funding. Walz had already issued a third-party audit of Medicaid billing through the Minnesota Department of Human Services, and paused payments in October. 

"If the state cannot get a handle on this fraud, as we find more, we intend to withhold more payments moving forward until the state cleans up its act," he said in the video Tuesday.

The full letter can be found below.