Minnesota in CMS’ Crosshairs Following Evidence of Widespread Medicaid Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

On Jan. 14, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a “notice of opportunity for hearing”, which would allow Minnesota representatives to appear before CMS to respond to its findings that Minnesota has fallen substantially out of compliance with federal Medicaid requirements due to numerous instances of fraud and waste, particularly among its social services offerings. CMS’ findings will be the basis for withholding federal financial participation from Minnesota’s Medicaid program, which will only end when Minnesota’s Medicaid agency implements an acceptable corrective action plan to bring its program integrity back into compliance with federal requirements concerning the identification, reporting, and investigation of suspected fraud.