明尼苏达州正在为特朗普政府可能永久削减其更多医疗补助资金做准备。
Minnesota is bracing for the Trump administration to cut more of its Medicaid funding — permanently.
该州医疗补助项目的最高官员担心，明尼苏达州可能会损失数亿美元的已付款项。如果这种情况发生，明尼苏达州将被迫从为该项目服务的低收入人群的医生、医院和其他护理人员那里追回这笔资金。
The state’s top Medicaid official is concerned Minnesota could lose hundreds of millions of dollars for claims it's already paid out. If that comes to pass, Minnesota would be forced to claw the money back from doctors, hospitals and other people who care for the low-income people in the program.
“我们希望从医保医疗服务中心获得明确说明，”明尼苏达州人类服务部临时专员约翰·康诺利在接受《政治》杂志采访时表示，他指的是负责监管医疗补助的联邦机构。“我们担心的是，这些不同的冻结和追回如何得到合理化的解释。”自2月份以来，医保医疗服务中心已冻结明尼苏达州超过5.5亿美元的医疗补助资金，使该州成为特朗普总统打击欺诈行动的焦点。
“We want clarity from CMS,” John Connolly, the state’s temporary commissioner of the Department of Human Services, said in an interview with POLITICO, referencing the federal agency that oversees Medicaid. “The concern that we have is how these different freezes and clawbacks are justified.”The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has frozen more than $550 million in Minnesota Medicaid funding since February, making the state a focal point in President Donald Trump’s fraud crackdown.
这些冻结资金是在一起涉及现已关闭的明尼苏达州住房项目中大规模欺诈丑闻之后出现的。作为回应，民主党籍州长蒂姆·沃尔兹——2024年总统大选中卡玛拉·哈里斯的竞选搭档——决定不寻求连任。沃尔兹表示，他希望在任期最后一年专注于打击州内项目中的欺诈行为，而不是进行竞选活动。
The frozen funds followed a scandal involving rampant fraud in a now-shuttered Minnesota housing program. In response, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election, decided not to seek reelection. Walz said he wanted to spend his last year in office fighting fraud in state programs, not campaigning.
明尼苏达州表示，它已经采取了迅速行动来打击欺诈，包括重新验证所有被认为存在欺诈风险的医疗服务提供者，例如居家健康服务和自闭症治疗。
Minnesota says it's taken swift action to clamp down on fraud, including revalidating all providers of health care services thought to be fraud risks, such as home health and autism therapy.
医保医疗服务中心告诉《政治》杂志，它不对正在诉讼中的事项发表评论。该机构目前正在法庭上与明尼苏达州就一项单独的政府努力进行对抗，该努力旨在扣留未来向该州支付的20亿美元医疗补助款项。医保医疗服务中心的一位发言人在一份声明中告诉《政治》杂志，该机构“致力于通过保护纳税人的资金来守护医疗补助”。
CMS told POLITICO it does not comment on matters that are in litigation. The agency is in court with Minnesota over a separate administration effort to withhold $2 billion to the state in future Medicaid payments. CMS is “committed to safeguarding Medicaid” by protecting taxpayer dollars, a spokesperson told POLITICO in a statement.
医疗补助由州政府和联邦政府共同资助。各州先支付医疗服务提供者提交的索赔，然后由联邦政府部分报销。
Medicaid is jointly funded by the state and the federal government. States pay out claims that providers submit and are then partially reimbursed by the federal government.
但二月份，CMS 因明尼苏达州需承担去年最后一个季度索赔的份额，扣留了 2.59 亿美元的联邦资金。该机构此前曾表示，认为这些索赔存在可疑，可能涉及欺诈。
But in February, CMS withheld $259 million in federal funding from Minnesota for its share of the claims for the last quarter of 2025. The agency has previously said it believes the claims are suspicious and potentially fraudulent.
CMS 行政长官梅赫梅特·奥兹以及特朗普任命的白宫反欺诈沙皇、副总统 JD·万斯在二月份的新闻发布会上表示，如果明尼苏达州能够证明这些索赔是合法的，CMS 将支付这笔款项。康诺利表示，超过六个月后，明尼苏达州仍未能做到这一点。
CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz and Vice President JD Vance, whom Trump tapped as the White House fraud czar, said at a press conference in February that CMS would pay if Minnesota could prove the claims were legitimate. More than six months later, Minnesota has not been able to, Connolly said.
他担心 CMS 正在将提供者的文件问题和错误与欺诈混为一谈。
He's worried CMS is confusing documentation issues and mistakes made by providers with fraud.
“令人担忧的是，界限被模糊，导致一切都被视为欺诈，而不是合规或文件问题，”他说。
“The concern there is a blurring of the lines that calls everything fraud, as opposed to a compliance or documentation issue,” he said.
这 2.59 亿美元是 CMS 宣布的若干延期付款中的第一笔 — — 总额最高可达 5.5 亿美元。该州担心这笔首期延期付款 2.59 亿美元的去向，并正在就剩余延期付款金额进行谈判。
The $259 million was the first of several deferrals CMS has announced — totaling up to $550 million. The state is worried about the fate of the initial deferral of $259 million and is negotiating the remaining deferral amounts.
如果 CMS 永不向明尼苏达州付款，该州可能需要要求提供者退还这笔款项。
If CMS never pays Minnesota, the state may have to ask providers to give the money back.
二月份，奥兹曾告诉明尼苏达州，可以动用雨天基金，以确保明尼苏达人不会失去福利。康诺利表示，州立法机构需要批准这一做法。
In February, Oz told Minnesota it could tap its rainy day funds to ensure Minnesotans don't lose benefits. Connolly says the state legislature would have to approve that.
该州于 10 月 2 日致函奥兹，请求提供该机构用于将提供者标记为欺诈风险的方法论信息，该机构曾表示该过程涉及通过欺诈检测分析标记提供者。“我们是在寻求一条出路，”他说。
The state sent a letter to Oz on Oct. 2 requesting information on the methodology the agency used to identify providers as fraud risks, a process the agency has said involved flagging providers through fraud-detection analytics. "We are asking for a way out,” he said.