White House threatens to withhold Medicaid money from states over fraud

The Trump administration is threatening to withhold Medicaid money from all 50 states if they do not show that they are complying with federal anti-fraud statutes. Vice President Vance told reporters Wednesday that a letter sent to states by the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general requires them to show that they are “effectively and aggressively prosecuting Medicaid fraud in their states.” “And if they do not, if they do not aggressively prosecute Medicaid fraud, we are going to turn off the money that goes to these anti-fraud units,” Vance said. He added that the federal government is also deferring over $1 billion in Medicaid reimbursements from California over fraud in the state. “This does not have to be a red state or a blue state issue. This is just basic good government,” Vance said. He said he had both red and blue states that were working with the administration on this issue, and some that were not. He named Hawaii and New York as two states that were not cooperative, and Ohio and Maryland as two that were. HHS also announced Wednesday that it is placing a moratorium on new Medicare enrollments from home health care and hospice providers. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc.