Trump's Trials - Trump administration cuts some Medicaid funding to Minnesota alleging fraud

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

President Trump says Vice President Vance will lead a "war on fraud" to root out corruption in places like Minnesota. Vance announced cuts to some Medicaid funding to the state Wednesday. Matt Sepic reports. Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

You're listening to Trump's terms. I'm Scott Detrow. President Trump promised every single American that he would make America safe again. Every single day in the Oval Office, the president looks at us and says, why haven't we done more? This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time. Every episode, we bring you one story from NPR's recent coverage of the 47th president. With a focus on ways his administration is pushing the boundaries of presidential power. Here's the latest from NPR.

From NPR news, I'm E Martinez. The Trump administration is putting a temporary hold on some Medicaid funding to Minnesota. It says it's concerned about fraud. Reporter Matt Seppick of Minnesota Public Radio has been covering fraud investigations there for the past four years. He joins us now from Minneapolis with the facts. So, Matt, what types of Medicaid programs is the administration targeting? They don't appear to be focusing on direct medical care such as physician visits, rather personal care as well as home and community-based services. That includes things like intensive

residential treatment, night supervision services, and non-emergency medical transportation. Those are the same programs in which the state halted new enrollments last month at the direction of the federal government. Vice President J.D. Vance announced the latest cuts yesterday alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Trump administration says it's withholding just over a quarter billion dollars in reimbursements this month. Oz pointed to a Minnesota Medicaid program meant to provide care to children with autism. Last year, federal prosecutors charged two people with setting up phony treatment centers and enrolling kids regardless of their symptoms. They then bill Medicaid. This is that already happened. Millions of dollars for services that were

never rendered, never delivered by a qualified staff member. These schemes disproportionately involve immigrant communities. One of the defendants in the autism case pleaded. guilty in December to stealing $14 million. The other is expected to plead guilty on Monday. More than a dozen other people are charged with ripping off a Medicaid housing program. Governor Tim Walls, a Democrat, shut that down last year because of widespread fraud. Many of the defendants are from Minnesota's Somali-American community, which Trump disparaged in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. You mentioned Governor Walls. What's he saying now?

On social media yesterday, Walls called it a, quote, campaign of retribution. by President Donald Trump that'll be devastating for people across Minnesota. He notes that Trump has pardoned numerous people convicted of fraud and that his Justice Department has driven out experienced fraud prosecutors. Why did those federal prosecutors quit? Well, more than a dozen staffers at the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office resigned after immigration agents killed Renee Macklin Good and Alex Predey last month. They quit in protest after Justice Department leaders pressured them to investigate Good's widow

and because the FBI has refused to include state police in the shooting investigations. That's according to a DOJ source who requested anonymity because they're not authorized to speak to the media. The people who resigned include everyone on the team that had been prosecuting fraud. Matt, what does the federal government want for Minnesota leaders before releases this Medicaid money? Well, Oz says the state must develop a comprehensive plan to tackle fraud, and Walls has 60 days to respond. It's important to point out that fighting fraud is a key priority in the state legislature for lawmakers from both parties. Legislators are trying to hash out the details of a proposed inspector general's office that would oversee anti-fraud efforts in Minnesota.

State Attorney General Keith Ellison says he is also asking lawmakers for money to hire more fraud prosecutors. All right, that's Minnesota Public Radio's Matt SEPIC. Matt, thank you very much for your reporting on this. You're welcome. And before we wrap up, a thank you to our NPR Plus supporters who hear each show without sponsored messages and, of course, who help protect independent journalism. If you are not a supporter yet, you can visit plus.npr.org to find out how you can get a ton of podcast perks across dozens of NPR shows, like bonus episodes, exclusive merchandise, and more. Again, that's plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's Terms from NPR.