The Trump administration is cutting off more than $112 million in federal funding to Minnesota over “unallowable claims,” the most recent escalation in the White House’s fight over Medicaid fraud in the state.
The administration sought to block hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid funding to blue states this year, including Minnesota and California over allegations of fraud. It has made Minnesota a focal point in President Trump’s fraud crackdown.
In a letter to Minnesota Department of Human Services temporary commissioner John Connolly, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services cited dozens of instances where Minnesota allegedly failed to provide necessary documentation or provider documents where certain dates didn’t align.
But Connolly is questioning how the administration decided which claims to challenge, and whether officials confused documentation mistakes with fraud.
“We have more questions than answers right now, including CMS’s extrapolation methodology and how they selected the 330 claims for review in a quarter with more than 6 million high-risk claims,” Connolly said in a message to leaders in his department on Tuesday.
“CMS’s findings indicate the basis for the disallowance is administrative paperwork deficiencies, including issues with signatures, signoffs, dates and addresses in billing, as well as other supporting documentation,” added Connolly. “We are actively reviewing information in the attached letter we received late Friday and plan to request more information from CMS before determining next steps.”
Minnesota has 60 days to appeal the disallowance by CMS.
Connolly said CMS in the past year has not responded to numerous requests for “transparency, partnership and a path to resolution.” He noted CMS has still not made any determinations regarding two earlier funding freezes totaling $350 million.
Medicaid is jointly funded by the state and the federal government. If CMS never pays Minnesota, the state may have to ask providers to give the money back
