MEDICAID

North Dakota may expand Medicaid for mental health but some see other options

Kurt Snyder, executive director of the Heartview Foundation, shows a display of the different buildings the organization has operated in since 1964 during a tour of its facility in Bismarck on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — North Dakota lawmakers are drafting a policy that would change the system in which some…

Walz announces plan to centralize, modernize Department of Human Services to cut out fraud

ST. PAUL (KVRR/FOX9) — Gov. Tim Walz announces a major plan to modernize and centralize the Department of Human Services as part of an effort to crackdown on fraud in Minnesota’s Medicaid programs. The state will shift away from “complex, layered administration managed by a patchwork of counties, Managed Care Organizations, and state agencies” to a centralized entity run by…

Walz lays out plan to give the state more control over Medicaid

Gov. Tim Walz (D) MinnesotaST. PAUL, Minn. (KVRR-KFGO) – Governor Tim Walz has released a proposal that he says would centralize and streamline the way Minnesota delivers human services, including Medicaid. The plan updates a decades-old system that relies on counties and managed care organizations to run the programs. Under the proposal, the state would determine eligibility for Medicaid and…

Minnesota Attorney General and DHS are pursuing federal legal action for Medicaid funds

MINNESOTA (KVRR) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Department of Human Services have filed a federal lawsuit against the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. The lawsuit claims the departments are illegally attempting to withhold $243 million in Medicaid payments after DHS has been working to abide by the…

North Dakota rural health grant opportunities imminent as feds OK spending plan

Lawmakers on the Joint Appropriations Committee study legislation during a January special session convened to budget the first two years of the state’s Rural Health Transformation Program funding. (Photo by Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — The federal government has approved most of North Dakota’s nearly $200 million plan implementing the first year of a massive rural…

Walz unveils anti-fraud package after Trump administration threatens to halt Medicaid funds

Gov. Tim Walz introduces anti-fraud legislative packageST. PAUL, Minn., (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz denounced the Trump administration’s latest threat to withhold federal funds from Minnesota as another step in a “retribution” campaign as he unveiled a package of legislation Thursday intended to fight fraud in public programs, a persistent problem that provided an impetus for the federal government’s immigration…

JD Vance says administration is pausing some Medicaid funding to Minnesota because of fraud concerns

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration would “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. Medicaid is the U.S. health care safety net for low-income Americans. As of late 2025, nearly 70 million…

Minnesota Department of Human Services to combat fraud with unannounced visits to providers

MINNESOTA (KVRR) — The Minnesota Department of Human Services announces plans to reevaluate Medicaid providers in the state in the coming weeks to combat fraud. “Minnesota Revalidate” will look at the more than 5,800 Medicaid providers in 13 high-risk programs by the end of May. Providers will be expected to provide documentation and be evaluated on their background. D-H-S will…

North Dakota lawmakers poised to act next week on federal rural health spending

Bill to expand authority of pharmacists among policy proposals to be debated

North Dakota Health and Human Services Interim Commissioner Pat Traynor speaks to lawmakers about incoming federal funding on Jan. 13, 2026. (Photo by Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — North Dakota lawmakers took final steps this week to prepare for next week’s special session to authorize the spending of federal health care money. Congress last year created…

Trump administration investigates Medicaid spending on immigrants in Minnesota and other Democratic states

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Trump administration is launching Medicaid spending probes in Minnesota and at least five other Democratic-led states that provide comprehensive health coverage to poor and disabled immigrants living in the U.S. without permanent legal status. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is scouring payments covering health care for immigrants without legal status to ensure there…