Citing Fraud Without Evidence, RFK Jr. Halts $1 Billion Medicaid, Medicare Payments To CA, MN

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – The Trump administration has ordered a temporary halt to roughly $1 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota, accusing the two Democratic-led states of possible fraud and failing to comply with federal program requirements.

The decision was announced July 21 by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. The officials said the funding would remain on hold until both states submit records demonstrating that the payments were properly claimed.

Kennedy said the administration would not release the money unless California and Minnesota could verify the legitimacy of the reimbursements. Neither Kennedy nor Oz, however, disclosed specific evidence to support the fraud allegations during the announcement, according to Reuters.

The move is the latest in a series of confrontations between the Trump administration and Democratic-controlled states over federal funding. In May, the administration withheld about $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements to California, arguing that the state had failed to adequately address fraud in its home health and hospice programs.

The administration has also taken other steps aimed at California. Reports last month said President Donald Trump had instructed federal agencies to examine ways to reduce or withhold funding to the state. Earlier this year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency faced criticism after reports that disaster assistance to several Democratic-led states had been delayed. More recently, administration officials warned that states refusing to provide voter registration information to the federal government could face the loss of certain grants.

California and Minnesota are widely expected to challenge the latest funding freeze in court. Similar disputes over federal funding have previously resulted in legal victories for states seeking to restore withheld money.