Minnesota challenges CMS over Medicaid fraud claims, $550M funding freeze

Minnesota’s top human services official is defending the state’s efforts to combat fraud, while also demanding more transparency from the federal government as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to withhold nearly $550 million in Medicaid funding.

In a five-page letter sent Friday to CMS administrator Mehmet Oz, Temporary DHS Commissioner John Connolly argued the state has aggressively pursued anti-fraud efforts but has not received the evidence federal officials say justifies the funding deferrals.

Connolly wrote that Minnesota and CMS share a commitment to combating Medicaid fraud and protecting taxpayer money, but said effective oversight requires a transparent federal-state partnership.

The letter marks the latest chapter in Minnesota’s effort to get the Trump administration to release hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for the state’s Medica...