In the dispute over a major fraud scandal in social benefits in Minnesota, the US government is increasing the pressure on the state.
02/26/2026, 04:2802/26/2026, 04:28
Part of the federal subsidy for the low-income health program (Medicaid) in Minnesota will be “temporarily” frozen, Vice President JD Vance announced. According to the head of the state health systems Medicare and Medicaid, Mehmet Oz, it is about 259 million US dollars that will not be paid for the time being.
JD Vance freezes support for poor people in Minnesota.Image: keystone
The reason for this is a lack of controls and a “systematic misuse” of taxpayers’ money. The Republican Vance complained about a lack of cooperation from the authorities in the democratically governed state in clarifying the incidents.
The evening before, US President Donald Trump had commissioned Vance to investigate the fraud. According to Trump, members of the Somali community are said to have embezzled “an estimated $19 billion.”
US media such as the New York Times report that there has been fraud amounting to several hundred million dollars so far. Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz has so far only cited damage of $250 million for some of the affected programs.
States and the federal government share the cost of Medicaid. According to official figures, around 1.3 million people in Minnesota rely on the support. According to the state, a good 40 percent of benefit recipients are children. The program also supports pregnant women, the disabled and the elderly, among others. In contrast to the vast majority of European countries, there is no universal health insurance in the United States. (sda/dpa)