福克斯第一：揭开医疗补助欺诈案（该欺诈案可能会让明尼苏达州等州的纳税人损失数百万美元）的举报人声称自己面临州领导人报复，可以根据本周提出的众议院共和党新法案获得保护。
FIRST ON FOX: Whistleblowers who pulled back the curtain on Medicaid fraud – which potentially cost taxpayers millions of dollars in states like Minnesota – who alleged they faced retaliation from state leaders could gain protections under a new House GOP bill introduced this week.
众议员爱荷华州共和党人玛丽安妮特·米勒-米克斯公布了《医疗补助举报人保护法案》，该法案将在全国范围内为报告欺诈预警迹象（包括合同违规行为和异常金融交易）的州和地方医疗补助工作人员建立联邦保护。
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, unveiled the Medicaid Whistleblower Protection Act, which would establish federal protections nationwide for state and local Medicaid workers who report early warning signs of fraud, including contracting irregularities and unusual financial transactions.
米勒-米克斯在福克斯新闻数字独家获得的一份新闻稿中表示：“任何公务员都不应该在良心和生计之间做出选择。”“举报医疗补助中欺诈、浪费和滥用行为的举报人正在保护纳税人的钱和该计划旨在服务的弱势群体，他们应该得到真正的保护，而不是报复。“该法案将防止雇主解雇、降职、威胁、骚扰或歧视举报欺诈、违法、严重管理不善、滥用权力或危害公共健康或安全的医疗补助工作人员。
"No public servant should have to choose between their conscience and their livelihood," Miller-Meeks said in a press release exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. "Whistleblowers who report fraud, waste and abuse in Medicaid are protecting taxpayer dollars and the vulnerable people this program is meant to serve, and they deserve real protection, not retaliation." The bill would prevent employers from firing, demoting, threatening, harassing or discriminating against Medicaid workers who report fraud, violations of law, gross mismanagement, abuse of authority or dangers to public health or safety.
明尼苏达州“试图掩盖欺诈指控”、前州警指控面临报复的工人也可以获得复职，双倍的欠薪加上利息、律师费和惩罚性赔偿。
MINNESOTA 'TRIED TO COVER UP FRAUD ALLEGATIONS,' FORMER STATE TROOPER ALLEGES Workers who face retaliation could also receive reinstatement, twice their back pay plus interest, attorneys' fees and punitive damages.
这项立法是在明尼苏达州公共服务部30多名现任和前任员工1月份的一封信之后进行的，信中强调了早在2019年就发现欺诈行为的“报复模式”，其中一些人声称他们面临监视、调查、调动和解雇。
The legislation follows a January letter from more than 30 current and former Minnesota Department of Human Services employees highlighting a "pattern of retaliation" for flagging fraud as early as 2019, with some alleging they faced surveillance, investigations, reassignment and termination.
“我将努力确保愿意说出真相的人受到保护，而不是沉默。”米勒-米克斯说。
"I will fight to make sure the people willing to tell the truth are protected, not silenced." Miller-Meeks said.
三月份，几位共和党议员就这封信和该州猖獗的欺诈行为对明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·沃尔兹和司法部长基思·埃里森进行了质询，并质疑他们是何时第一次了解报复计划和指控的。
Several Republican lawmakers grilled Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison in March over the letter and rampant fraud in the state, questioning when they first learned about the schemes and allegations of retaliation.
当被问及报复指控时，沃尔兹表示，他“并不具体”了解这些指控，并多次拒绝回应这些指控。该欺诈涉及超过9000万美元的涉嫌欺诈索赔，这些索赔与多个国家资助的援助计划有关。
When pressed on the retaliation claims, Walz said he was "not specifically" aware of them and repeatedly declined to address the allegations. The fraud involved more than $90 million in alleged fraudulent claims tied to multiple state-funded assistance programs.
沃尔兹在“挑战”听证会前夕罢免明尼苏达州高级官员明尼苏达州众议员、众议院欺诈预防和州机构监督委员会主席克里斯汀·罗宾斯支持该法案，称政客和机构领导人针对举报人是为了保护“他们的政治基础”。罗宾斯说：“运行这些项目的联邦、州和县工作人员往往是第一个看到危险信号的人，但是，正如我们在明尼苏达州一次又一次看到的那样，如果他们敢于指出这一点，他们就会被称为种族主义者，被指控创造了一个充满敌意的工作环境，被降职、重新分配或以其他方式伤害个人和职业。”
WALZ REMOVES TOP MINNESOTA OFFICIAL ON EVE OF ‘GAUNTLET’ HEARING OVER FRAUD SCANDAL Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins, chair of the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee, backed the bill, saying politicians and agency leaders target whistleblowers to protect "their political base." "The federal, state and county workers who run these programs are often the first to see red flags, but, as we have seen time and again in Minnesota, if they dare to point it out, they are called racist, accused of creating a hostile work environment, demoted, reassigned or otherwise harmed personally and professionally," Robbins said.
该法案是众议院能源和商业共和党人的“继续打击欺诈”一揽子计划中的14项措施之一，该计划由肯塔基州共和党主席布雷特·格思里领导。该一揽子计划旨在更容易地发现欺诈行为，追回不当付款并加强问责制。
The bill is one of 14 measures in House Energy and Commerce Republicans' "Continuing the Fight Against Fraud" package, led by Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky. The package aims to detect fraud more easily, recover improper payments and increase accountability.
米勒-米克斯领导的一揽子计划中的另一项措施，即WALZ法案，将要求卫生和公共服务部监察长办公室对任何在一个财政年度内的任何六个月内总付款增加10%或更多的计划进行调查。
Another measure in the package led by Miller-Meeks, the WALZ Act, would require the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to open investigations into any program that sees a 10% or greater increase in total payments over any six-month period within a fiscal year.
白宫在国会中推动“分水岭”的反欺诈改革，万斯允许任务部队格思里指责拜登政府的监督失误导致欺诈行为“在政府医疗计划中不受遏制”。“被欺诈者窃取或浪费在不当付款上的每一美元，都是从支持依赖这些计划的有需要的家庭中拿走的一美元，”他说。
WHITE HOUSE PUSHES 'WATERSHED' FRAUD-FIGHTING REFORM IN CONGRESS AS VANCE CONVENES TASK FORCE Guthrie blamed oversight failures under the Biden administration for allowing fraud to "go unchecked in government health programs." "Every dollar stolen by fraudsters or wasted on improper payments is a dollar taken away from supporting families in need who rely on these programs," he said.
该立法将于2028年1月1日生效，特朗普政府正在通过副总统JD Vance领导的反欺诈工作组继续打击欺诈行为。福克斯新闻数字公司联系了沃尔兹和埃里森的办公室征求意见。
The legislation would take effect Jan. 1, 2028, amid the Trump administration’s continued crackdown on fraud through an anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance. Fox News Digital reached out to Walz's and Ellison's offices for comment.