Federal health chief Mehmet Oz has issued a stark ultimatum to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz — the state must aggressively address what the administration calls a massive Medicaid fraud involving members of Minnesota’s Somali community, or risk having federal funding cut off.
According to Oz, more than $1 billion was allegedly siphoned from Medicaid through schemes that abused programs meant to support vulnerable residents. He accused “bad actors” of using the system to support luxury purchases and even claimed that some funds may have ended up finance flows to extremist organizations.
Today’s warning gives Governor Walz just 60 days to respond: he must submit weekly reports on anti-fraud efforts, freeze enrollment of high-risk providers, verify legitimacy of current providers, and deliver a corrective plan to restore program integrity. If Minnesota fails to comply, federal reimbursement for Medicaid — which supplies a significant portion of the state’s healthcare budget — could be halted.