{"id":13042,"date":"2026-07-22T00:18:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=13042"},"modified":"2026-07-22T00:18:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:18:24","slug":"trump-administration-says-its-deferring-1b-in-medicaid-payments-to-california-and-minnesota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=13042","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration says it&#8217;s deferring $1B in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">The Trump administration on Tuesday said it was deferring more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to Minnesota and California because of \u201csuspected fraud and noncompliance,\u201d the latest in <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/minnesota-medicaid-funding-fraud-trump-47b160fd664cdfeef355ae00ca5fecc0\">a series of punitive steps<\/a> it has linked to <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/vance-antifraud-task-force-45cc5786a3c84cf2190f3d312fcc3a6d\">allegations of fraud<\/a> in <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/medicaid-new-york-fraud-health-trump-2a88e5139ff5ffdd06f18e68af9029f4\">mostly Democratic-led states<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the new actions \u2014 which come after previously announced Medicaid funding deferrals in those states \u2014 are part of the administration&#8217;s strategy to \u201cstop the fraud before it happens\u201d rather than claw back problematic spending after bad actors are prosecuted, as previous administrations had done. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cWe have a duty to stop the payments, demand answers and then follow the evidence wherever it leads,\u201d Kennedy told a news conference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The tactic is part of the administration\u2019s sweeping campaign to show it\u2019s cracking down on fraud and saving taxpayers money when rising healthcare costs and other economic stressors have made affordability a top voter in November\u2019s midterm elections. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">California\u2019s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom responded by accusing the Republican administration of targeting it for political reasons. Minnesota\u2019s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz suggested the administration was deferring the funds to pay for Trump\u2019s tax cuts to wealthy Americans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In March, Vice President JD Vance launched a new anti-fraud task force at the request of President Donald Trump, bringing together officials from various departments to use data and technology to identify and investigate suspected wrongful use of federal dollars.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The Trump administration intensified anti-immigration efforts in Minnesota earlier this year, sending in a robust force of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers whose actions there caused weeks of counterprotests and included the shooting deaths of two civilians. Trump himself has frequently denounced California as a badly governed state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The strategy has led to some false starts and headaches for states. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In April, for example, the Centers for Medicare <!-- -->&amp;<!-- --> Medicaid Services acknowledged to The Associated Press it <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/new-york-medicaid-fraud-dr-oz-trump-342285a3c5d5b71f36ce3f3c77ec72c5\">made a significant error<\/a> in figures it used to help justify a fraud probe in New York. Last month, California&#8217;s Medicaid director told a congressional committee that CMS had not yet provided \u201cany instances of fraud, waste or abuse\u201d to the state in its justification of a $1.3 billion Medicaid funding deferral announced in May.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">And in Minnesota, state officials have been executing a thorough corrective action plan to defray CMS concerns that have led the agency to defer some $260 million in federal money and to threaten future cuts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Kennedy didn&#8217;t specify in Tuesday&#8217;s announcement whether the new deferrals \u2014 $867.5 million in federal Medicaid payments to California and $199 million to Minnesota \u2014 are in addition to, or overlap with, <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/medicare-fraud-trump-vance-oz-health-hospice-534297fffb47e31e2a3906273f20e0b5\">earlier deferrals<\/a> announced this year. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz didn&#8217;t provide any concrete examples of fraud in the two states in justifying the deferrals. He did mention some patterns the agency noticed that it found questionable, including that some providers were billing for four or more patients at the same time, or billing after the date of a Medicaid beneficiary&#8217;s death. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Oz also highlighted a fast rate of growth in California&#8217;s home care program as a reason for concern. California officials have disputed that idea, explaining that the state&#8217;s home care program has grown because of an intentional strategy to keep people out of more expensive nursing homes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Kennedy and Oz said states could restart the flow of federal funding by providing documentation proving the payments in question were legitimate. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Representatives for California and Minnesota&#8217;s Medicaid programs didn&#8217;t immediately respond to requests for comment. Officials in both states have previously acknowledged they are working with the federal government to provide the requested information. Oz said Minnesota had already returned documents to the federal government and they were being \u201creevaluated very carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Kennedy also suggested Tuesday that he would extend the power to exclude providers from Medicaid, Medicare and other federal health programs to CMS. In the past, that authority has rested solely with his department\u2019s Office of the Inspector General.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">\u201cThis is going to be a full force multiplier,\u201d HHS Inspector General Thomas March Bell told a news conference. \u201cIt&#8217;s going to create additional momentum, and it&#8217;s going to exclude additional bad actors.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Trump administration on Tuesday said it was deferring more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to Minnesota and California because of \u201csuspected fraud and noncompliance,\u201d the latest in a series of punitive steps it has linked to allegations of fraud in mostly Democratic-led states. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the new actions&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/5e8d68d8-88c7-444e-a0d3-d4760d5c4ec6\/wirestory_24033ef9807b46f8b6fd6614ef5b1169_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}