RFK Jr. Freezes $1B in Medicaid to California, Minnesota over Fraud FearsMariane Angela 21 Jul 2026
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that the Trump administration is deferring more than $1 billion in Medicaid payments to Democrat-led California and Minnesota over high-risk claims flagged in a crackdown on fraud.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is holding back roughly $867.5 million from California and $199 million from Minnesota, HHS said in a news release. The department stressed the money is being deferred, not cut, and that both states can recover it by documenting that the claims meet federal Medicaid requirements.
“States that receive federal Medicaid funding must demonstrate that every dollar meets federal requirements,” Kennedy said. “When they cannot, we will not release federal funds until they do.”
https://twitter.com/HHSGov/status/2079632265902952564At a news conference, the health secretary named Govs. Gavin Newsom and Tim Walz directly, saying all they had to do was provide basic documentation showing the services were legitimate, which he called “common sense.” He added that the administration used artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to identify the suspicious spending.
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz was blunter.
“CMS is done trying to chase down stolen and misused funds after they’ve already left the building,” Oz said, adding that stopping fraud “before the check clears” was delivering record-high savings for taxpayers.
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/07/21/rfk-jr-freezes-1b-in-medicaid-to-california-minnesota-over-fraud-fears/
