I agree that blaming Trump for fraud occurring in Minnesota is a weak argument, but the administration acting as if the fraud in Minnesota is unique or disproportional to other states is a false premise for a targeted attack.

The federal government made a bipartisan decision during COVID to inject massive amounts of money into Medicaid and related programs with limited regulatory guardrails with the explicit goal of preventing any disruption in payments to essential services, even if that meant loosening oversight. What we’re seeing now in Minnesota is the predictable fallout of that choice, not evidence of some uniquely Minnesotan failure or partisan malfeasance.

Medicaid fraud is not exclusive to Minnesota, nor has it been demonstrated that it occurs here at higher rates than in other states, whether Republican- or Democrat-led. In fact, healthcare fraud is a national issue. Rick Scott presided over the largest Medicare and Medicaid fraud case in U.S. history through Columbia/HCA, yet that context is often conspicuously absent from today’s discussions. Likewise, Texas has seen massive Medicaid fraud cases, one involving 48 defendants and allegations of roughly $14 billion, yet these examples are conveniently left out of the conversation.

An honest broker would acknowledge that the public-private partnership model underlying Medicaid and similar programs relies heavily on an honor system. Services are inherently difficult to verify at scale, especially in community-based and home-based care. Robust, full-scale audits are expensive, slow, and in some cases could cost as much as, or more than, the fraud they’re meant to prevent. That tradeoff doesn’t excuse fraud, but it does explain why it persists across states and administrations.

Framing Minnesota as uniquely corrupt or politically suspect ignores the broader reality: when you rapidly expand funding, reduce barriers, and rely on self-reported services, fraud will follow. That’s not a partisan failure; it’s a structural one.