Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz issued a 60-day ultimatum to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Sunday, threatening to cut more than $1 billion in federal funding over alleged Medicaid fraud.
“This is a clear breach of duty,” Oz wrote in a statement. published to X. “Everyone from Gov. Tim Walz on down should be investigated because they were asleep at the wheel.”
The scheme involved attackers exploiting two government programs. Housing Stabilization Services provided assistance to homeless people with disabilities, and the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention Program reimbursed therapy costs for families with disabilities. autistic children. (RELATED: Tim Walz Admits Welfare State 'Attracts Criminals', Avoids Blame for Fraud Problem)
You've probably heard the news by now: Minnesota scammers have stolen more than $1 billion from Medicaid. And you deserve an explanation.
Our people at CMS told me they've never seen anything like this in Medicaid – and everyone from Gov. Tim Walz on down should be investigated because… pic.twitter.com/MFUoYYJoEa
— DrOzCMS (@DrOzCMS) December 5, 2025
The housing program was designed to cost $2.6 million a year, but paid out more than $100 million last year. The autism therapy program has grown from $3 million in 2018 to nearly $400 million in 2023.
Oz said scammers used stolen taxpayer money to buy luxury cars, purchase overseas real estate and offer kickbacks to parents who enrolled children in fake treatment centers. Some remedies may have reached Somalia Terrorist group Al-Shabaab, according to his statement.
CMS has already closed the housing program and frozen provider enrollment in several abused programs. Oz now requires Minnesota to provide weekly fraud updates, freeze the registration of high-risk providers for six months, review all current providers and submit a corrective action plan.
“The message to Walz is clear: Either fix this in 60 days or start looking under the couch for loose change because we're done paying the bills for your incompetence,” Oz wrote.
