In early January 2026, the CMS Administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz, announced a compliance action imposing large financial penalties on Minnesota ($515 million per quarter going forward), asserting that the state had failed to protect its Medicaid program against fraud. The following month, Vice President J.D. Vance, joined by Dr. Oz, announced a deferral of $259 million in federal matching funds for past expenditures.
The combination of these two actions is both unprecedented and confusing. The purpose of this timeline is to sort out these two actions and put them in the context of the steps the state has taken to address fraud against its Medicaid program.
The timeline is not exhaustive; it’s an overview of major events drawn from publicly available sources. The state’s actions to address fraud are coded in light blue. Events relating to CMS’ compliance action are coded in blue; those relating to CMS’ deferral are coded in red. The timeline will be updated as further developments warrant.
Color Meaning
Light Blue = State Anti-Fraud Activities
Blue = CMS Compliance
Red = CMS Deferral
April 2026
April 6, 2026 – District Court denies state’s motion for preliminary injunction against CMS deferral
March 2026
March 19, 2026 – CMS approves revised CAP state submitted on January 30, requests delay in hearing on compliance pending state implementation of CAP
March 2, 2026 – State files suit against CMS in federal District Court to block the deferral of $243 million
February 2026
February 25, 2026 – Vice President Vance and CMS Administrator Oz announce deferral of $259.5 million in federal Medicaid matching payments for Q4 2025
February 2, 2026 – State begins revalidation, including unannounced site visits, of 5,800 Medicaid providers in the 13 “high risk” services
January 2026
January 30, 2026 – State submits revised CAP to CMS
January 9, 2026 – State requests a hearing on CMS finding of noncompliance, stopping the proposed withholding of $515 million each quarter
January 8, 2026 – State announces moratorium on new provider enrollment in 13 “high-risk” services
January 6, 2026 – CMS rejects state’s December 31 CAP as “deficient,” declares the state out of compliance with federal law, and gives notice of intent to withhold $515 million in matching funds each quarter going forward until the state is in compliance.
January 1, 2026 – State begins two-year pause in new licenses for home and community-based service providers
December 2025
December 31, 2025 – State submits a CAP to CMS
December 5, 2025 – CMS requests a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) by December 31st
October 2025
October 31, 2025 – State terminates Housing Stabilization Services program, reducing number of “high-risk” service types to 13
October 29, 2027 – Governor announces pause of payments for 14 “high-risk” services for up to 90 days, third party audit of billing for these services
October 27, 2025 – State notifies CMS it has identified 14 “high-risk” Medicaid services
October 15, 2025 – State disenrolls 800 inactive Medicaid providers
June 2025
June 1, 2025 – State categorizes providers of Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention autism services and Housing Stabilization Services as “high-risk”