‘Sham businesses’: Vance announces the halt of Medicaid funds to Minnesota over alleged fraud

Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the federal government will temporarily halt certain Medicaid payments to the state of Minnesota, citing what he described as verified fraud within a state-run program.

Vance said the move is aimed at ensuring Minnesotans are “good stewards of the American people’s tax money.”

‘They’re going to fraudsters in Minneapolis. That is unacceptable.’

“We’re announcing today that we have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that are going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligation seriously,” Vance said.

Vance clarified that providers on the ground in Minnesota have already been paid by the state. The federal government is pausing reimbursement payments to the state government, not direct payments to providers.

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Vance pointed to what he described as a confirmed case of fraud involving a program intended to provide after-school services to autistic children.

According to Vance, some individuals set up “sham businesses,” created fake clients, and even listed individuals “who are not even autistic” in order to collect Medicaid funds.

“A program that existed to ensure that autistic children had access to some after-school services has made a number of people rich,” Vance said, adding that the money “ought, by right, go to American citizens and to American families.”

He argued that the alleged fraud not only wastes taxpayer dollars but also diverts services away from children who genuinely need them.

“There are kids in Minnesota who deserve these services, who need these services, and they’re not going to those kids,” Vance said. “They’re going to fraudsters in Minneapolis. That is unacceptable.”

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“One of the things I love about our country is that we’re a generous country,” Vance said.

“We take care of our fellow citizens who can’t afford medical care because they’re down on their luck.”

He added that programs like Medicaid and food assistance exist to ensure families have access to “food, medical care, after-school services when their family needs them.”

However, Vance said that in Minnesota and other states, “the generosity and the good hearts of our fellow Americans are being taken advantage of.”

“This is disgraceful. It has happened for too long,” Vance said. “Far too many people have gotten rich by taking what is the best of the American spirit and getting rich off of it instead of providing services to kids who need it.”

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s office and the Department of Human Services of Minnesota did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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