This piece is part of MI x DW, a collaboration that brings Daily Wire readers exclusive commentary and research from the Manhattan Institute&#8217;s world-class team of scholars.
In this piece, Manhattan Institute Fellow Carolyn Gorman urges conservative education reformers to tackle school-based mental health programs. As Gorman explains, these initiatives have done little to improve students&#8217; mental health, but have contributed to falling outcomes — and cost taxpayers a pretty penny. — Tim Rice
***
American public education is at a crossroads.
Conservative education reformers have made real gains in recent years, on school choice — now universal in <a href="https://www.heritage.org/religious-liberty/commentary/school-choice-about-religious-liberty-not-just-better-test-scores">18 states</a> — <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/03/divided-court-sides-with-parents-in-dispute-over-california-policies-on-transgender-students/">parental rights</a>, <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/dismantle-department-of-education-trump-elon-musk">ideology</a> and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/linda-mcmahon-my-vision-eliminating-department-education">bureaucracy</a>. As a result, we&#8217;re barreling towards what the American Enterprise Institute&#8217;s Robert Pondiscio <a href="https://www.aei.org/articles/the-last-days-of-public-school/">predicts</a> will be an “unprecedented crack-up” of public education.
If the old education model is to enter its last days — if, as Pondiscio says, “we’ve hit and passed ‘peak public school’&#8221; — conservative reformers need to set their sights on their next goal. And that goal should be fighting school-based mental health treatment — another woke, wasteful, ineffective idea that’s reduced accountability in schools.
These programs date back to the early 20th century, when progressive <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2408392/">reformers</a> urged schools to promote mental health, train teachers to recognize signs of distress, and locate health clinics in schools. If schools could identify problems early and deliver treatment widely, reformers promised, mental illnesses could be prevented; academic and behavioral problems <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lois-Flaherty/publication/226535892_History_of_School-Based_Mental_Health_Services_in_the_United_States/links/5703061708aedbac126f4241/History-of-School-Based-Mental-Health-Services-in-the-United-States.pdf">might improve</a>, too. 
In the ensuing century, periodic <a href="https://www.aei.org/articles/the-mental-health-crisis-that-wasnt/">proclamations</a> of <a href="https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/mentalhealthcommission/reports/FinalReport/FullReport-1.htm">looming</a> mental health <a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/school-based-mental-health-initiatives-challenges-and-considerations-for-policymakers#:~:text=In%20recent%20years%2C%20troubling%20increases%20in%20the%20prevalence%20of%20school%20violence%20and%20youth%20emotional%20distress%20have%20prompted%20a%20sense%20of%20urgency%20among%20policymakers%2C%20leading%20to%20the%20bipartisan%20action%20of%20committing%20billions%20of%20dollars%20annually%20in%20federal%20funding%20to%20bolster%20these%20programs.">crises</a>, tragedies like <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/193271">school shootings</a>, and expensive, bipartisan <a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/school-based-mental-health-initiatives-challenges-and-considerations-for-policymakers#:~:text=In%20education%20policy,being%20in%20schools.">spending efforts</a> have caused school mental health programs to explode. Today, nearly all public schools — <a href="https://ies.ed.gov/learn/press-release/over-half-public-schools-report-staffing-and-funding-limit-their-efforts-effectively-provide-mental#:~:text=All%20data%20released%20today%20can,/spp/results.asp.&amp;text=Nearly%20all%20public%20schools%20provide,%2D22%20%5B25%20percent%5D).">97 percent</a> — offer some form of <a href="https://www.kff.org/mental-health/the-landscape-of-school-based-mental-health-services/">mental health services</a>, like counseling and talk therapy, universal screening, wellness programming, referrals, or telehealth. The number of <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/school-and-career-counselors.htm">school counselors</a> and <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes193034.htm">school psychologists</a> is more than four times the number of <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes193033.htm">clinical psychologists</a> and <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes291223.htm">psychiatrists</a> in a given community.
Over <a href="https://effectiveschoolsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mental-Health-Funding_Trends_FINAL_10_3_24.pdf">$130 billion</a> in federal and state funding has gone to school mental health in the past decade or so alone. Medicaid pays <a href="https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/about/offices/list/osers/docs/medicaid-funding-for-school-based-services-03-08-2024.pdf">$4 to 6 billion</a> annually for school districts to provide physical, mental, and behavioral health services, and states <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-07/sbs-guide-medicaid-services-administrative-claiming-ud.pdf#page=9">can pay</a> higher Medicaid rates for services in schools than in community healthcare settings.
None of this has produced results. Decades of evaluations show school-based <a href="https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/Gorman-Mental-Health-First-Aid.pdf">mental health awareness training</a>, <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2682225/">mental health screening</a>, universal and targeted <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31734106/">prevention programs</a>, and even <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/1054139X9500236L">school-based health centers</a> have not improved outcomes relative to the absence of these services.
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Aggregate youth mental health outcomes have declined as school-based mental health services have expanded. Between 2016 and 2023, the prevalence of adolescent-diagnosed mental or behavioral health conditions <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK608531/#:~:text=Between%202016%20and,problems%20was%20stable.">increased</a> by 35%. In 2016, 4.1% of youth <a href="https://www.childhealthdata.org/browse/survey/archive2021/results?q=4992&amp;r=1">reportedly</a> had ADD or ADHD and received treatment for it. That rate has grown nearly three times as high. At least some of this has been documented as <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-ritalin-generation-1473630453">overdiagnosis</a> <a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/school-based-mental-health-initiatives-challenges-and-considerations-for-policymakers#:~:text=Federal%20guidance%20in,in%20decades%20prior.">driven by schools</a>. The youngest students in a given grade are disproportionately flagged by teachers and school staff as potentially having ADHD, then get diagnosed and medicated.
But school-based mental health has not simply had a poor return on investment. It also seriously undermines accountability for all parties. By confusing roles and responsibilities across the education and mental health systems, these programs give everyone involved — parents and teachers, students and school administrators — an excuse to point the finger elsewhere when grades, behavior, or student safety falls short of goals.  
Schools are not meant to provide mental health services. They&#8217;re meant to educate kids. Some die-hard proponents will debate that, suggesting schools are well-positioned to address mental health because it&#8217;s where kids spend most of their time, but that&#8217;s a weak argument: adults spend most of their time at work, but no one expects offices to offer psychotherapy or prescription refills.
Just as workplaces are meant for working, class time is meant for learning. Yet students are <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/schoolcounseling/comments/18cmp90/students_are_constantly_being_pulled_out_of_my/">routinely</a> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/comments/1gdsoa1/behavioral_health_pulling_students_out_of_class/">pulled</a> from instruction for counseling or “emotional support.” When you consider that many school therapists think they can boost students&#8217; mental health by talking about <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pits.22606">racism</a> and <a href="https://www.portlandmh.com/decolonizing-mental-healthcare-and-mental-health-leadership-a-reflection-on-the-work-of-pavna-k-sodhi-edd/#:~:text=Colonialism%20has%20left,and%20social%20marginalization.">colonialist oppression,</a> it&#8217;s no wonder these efforts are failing while reading and math scores <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/09/09/nx-s1-5526918/nations-report-card-scores-reading-math-science-education-cuts">plummet.</a>
The best way for schools to help students&#8217; mental health is to simply be schools and be safe. Education has protective effects against poor mental health. ​Disorderly classrooms and violent hallways cause distress. Schools should clearly communicate and fairly enforce school discipline policies so that students know what behavior is expected and what happens when expectations aren&#8217;t met. Disruptive or violent students then learn consequences, and other students who&#8217;d otherwise be harmed know they&#8217;re protected.
When public schools aren’t doing what works, we know better than ever that there are alternatives to simply doubling down. 
***
Carolyn D. Gorman is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Sad teenage boy sitting by male counselor discussing in school office

It’s Time For Schools To Get Out Of The Mental Health Business

Education

Medicaid

Mental Health

Private Schools

Public Schools

Vice President JD Vance announced on Wednesday that the Trump administration would withhold nearly $260 million in Medicaid funding for the Democrat-controlled Minnesota state government following the state&#8217;s massive fraud scandal.
Vance, who was tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the administration&#8217;s anti-fraud crackdown during the State of the Union address on Tuesday night, said that Minnesota must prove that it &#8220;takes its obligation seriously to be good stewards of the American people&#8217;s tax money.&#8221; According to Vance, the Trump administration is withholding reimbursements for Medicaid services that Minnesota already paid for out of the state budget.
&#8220;What this means is that first of all, the providers on the ground in Minnesota have actually already been paid,&#8221; Vance said at a press conference alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services. &#8220;What we&#8217;re doing is we&#8217;re stopping the federal payments that will go to the state government until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that&#8217;s being perpetrated against the American taxpayer.&#8221;
Minnesota state leaders, including Democratic Governor Tim Walz, were informed of the Trump administration&#8217;s move, according to Oz, who said the federal government will hold the Medicaid payments until Minnesota properly addresses the fraud.
&#8220;If Minnesota fails to clean up the systems, the state will rack up $1 billion of deferred payments this year,&#8221; Oz <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2026781835179565155">said</a>.
Oz assured reporters that the Medicaid funding freeze would not &#8220;hurt&#8221; Minnesota residents, since the state&#8217;s budget has a &#8220;rainy-day fund&#8221; to cover the lapse in funding.
&#8220;If providers and beneficiaries are worried about getting their money and services, please call your governor. These are services the governor has already paid for. We are just not reimbursing the state,&#8221; Oz said, adding, &#8220;This is not a problem with the people of Minnesota, it&#8217;s a problem with the leadership of Minnesota and other states who do not take Medicaid preservation seriously.&#8221;
Vance has zeroed in on 14 state programs in Minnesota, which include autism service providers and medical service transports that the administration believes are rife with fraud. The Trump administration is giving Walz 60 days to respond to its letter informing the state government of its freeze on Medicaid funding.
The vice president called out so-called services in Minnesota that have received millions in taxpayer dollars, only to make fraudsters rich. Federal prosecutors recently uncovered a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/federal-jury-finds-feeding-our-future-mastermind-and-co-defendant-guilty-250-million">massive fraud scheme</a> in Minnesota, resulting in dozens of convictions so far.
Minnesota&#8217;s “Feeding Our Future” program received federal funds and claimed to distribute meals to hungry children during the COVID pandemic, but allegedly never did so. The vast majority of those charged in the fraud scheme were of Somali descent.
Vance <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2026778961930268688">said</a> on Wednesday that the administration also found that a Minnesota program that was supposed to help kids with autism &#8220;has made a number of people rich, not by providing services to needy children, but by allowing fraudsters to take money that ought by right go to American citizens and to American families.&#8221;
Dr. Oz said at the White House press conference that the new Trump administration effort would be the &#8220;largest anti-fraud effort of its kind&#8221; in the history of the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services. Oz said that a fraud scheme in Minnesota pays mothers around $1,000 to falsely enroll their children as autistic and then Medicaid is billed for millions of dollars in &#8220;services that were never rendered.&#8221;
&#8220;These schemes disproportionately involve immigrant communities,&#8221; Oz <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2026781360266830026">added</a>. &#8220;They&#8217;re able to organize efforts, and sometimes they don&#8217;t understand what&#8217;s going on. And ultimately, it diverts resources away from kids who truly have autism.&#8221;
Daycare and learning centers linked to Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis area have also come under <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/minneapolis-daycare-fraud-has-been-going-on-at-least-a-decade-and-theres-video-to-prove-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrutiny</a> for suspected fraud after independent journalist Nick Shirley posted a 42-minute video in December that showed him visiting numerous daycares that have received state funding, but don’t appear to be serving any children.

JD Vance

Vance Takes First Major Action As Fraud Czar With Sights Set On Minnesota

Fraud

Mehmet Oz

Minnesota

Tim Walz

Trump Administration

Texas is suing a “radical gender” doctor whom the state alleges perpetrated medical fraud and attempted to subvert state law pertaining to gender treatments for minors.
Children&#8217;s Health System of Texas and <a href="https://utswmed.org/doctors/jason-jarin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Jason Jarin</a> <a href="https://www.childrens.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unlawfully</a> provided minors sex-rejecting medications, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, defrauded state insurance programs, and skirted state law, according to allegations in a <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/Petition_9.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“I will use every legal tool available to ensure radical gender activists like Jarin face justice for hurting our kids,” Paxton told The Daily Wire. “This criminal extremist not only permanently harmed children, but he also then defrauded Medicaid and stuck Texas taxpayers with the bill for this insanity. Experimental ‘transition’ procedures on minors are illegal, unethical, and will not be tolerated in Texas.”
In June 2023, Texas passed <a href="https://legiscan.com/TX/text/SB14/id/2756089" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate Bill 14</a>, which banned sex-rejecting interventions for minors. Dr. Jarin, a Division Director at Children&#8217;s Health System of Texas and Associate Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center, continued to provide children cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers after the law went into effect on September 1, 2023, the lawsuit alleges.
Dr. Jarin billed males for birth control medications that were intended to serve as cross-sex estrogen, fraudulently used diagnostic codes when billing for sex-rejecting procedures, and gave puberty blockers to “otherwise healthy children under the guise of ‘precocious puberty,’&#8221; according to the lawsuit.
Puberty blockers, which can cost thousands of dollars, are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of precocious puberty, an endocrine disorder in which early sexual development occurs in children. They <a href="https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/116284/documents/HHRG-118-JU10-20230727-SD011.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are not FDA-approved</a> for the treatment of gender dysphoria.
“Although Texas law bans dangerous and experimental sex-rejecting procedures on children, the scourge of so-called ‘gender affirming care’ persists in the State of Texas,” the lawsuit reads. “Even worse, Texas taxpayers have been on the hook for millions of dollars in gender transition surgeries, hormones, and other procedures that turn otherwise healthy children and young adults into chronic medical patients.”
“Our top priority is the health and well-being of the patients and families we serve. We comply with all applicable local, state and federal health care law,” Children’s Health said in a statement.
“Due to ongoing legal proceedings, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
In 2015, Children’s and UT Southwestern jointly opened a gender clinic, called the GENder Education and Care, Interdisciplinary Support clinic (GENECIS), which had more than 1,000 patients before abruptly closing in March 2022 after facing “intense scrutiny” as the public became more aware of the horrors of gender medicine, the lawsuit describes.
However, despite the public-facing closure of the gender clinic, healthcare providers continued to provide sex-rejecting procedures to children through the Adolescent and Young Adult clinics at Children’s and the Department of Pediatric Gynecology.
“Most patients continued to see the same providers at the same locations, and the partnership between UT Southwestern and Children’s remained essentially the same,” states the lawsuit.
Both the GENECIS and Adolescent and Young Adult clinics were “overseen by overlapping department chairs at UT Southwestern,” which included the Department of Pediatrics chair, Dr. Jorge Bezerra, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology chair, Dr. Perrin White, and the Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics chair, Dr. Richard Adams, the lawsuit describes.
When SB-14 went into effect, Dr. Jarin and two former GENECIS clinic doctors, Dr. Brett Cooper and Dr. Mary Lau, met with UT Southwestern leadership, including Bezerra, White, and Adams, to “discuss the implication of SB-14 for both institutions,” according to the lawsuit.
Dr. Jarin was primarily tasked, alongside White, Lau, and Cooper, with creating a “wean protocol&#8221; that allowed patients to wean off of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in compliance with SB-14 over a “medically appropriate” period of time, according to the lawsuit.  Patients who attended mental health sessions and were prescribed the medications before June 1, 2023, were eligible for the “wean protocol.”
Paxton claims this protocol was an attempt to subvert compliance with SB-14 and “justify the continued, illegal prescription of cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers to children,” in the lawsuit.
The “wean protocol” decreased the dosing of sex-rejecting hormones at such a low rate that it would take “2 to 5 years to wean completely off,” allowing children to maintain the feminizing or masculinizing effects of the drugs until age 18, when they could legally return to their “pre-SB-14 dosage,” according to the lawsuit.
Furthermore, if patients met either of two “exception” criteria, they were permitted to discontinue weaning altogether.
The protocol required patients to maintain the reproductive hormone levels of the opposite sex “in perpetuity,” claiming this was necessary to protect their bone health.
If patients failed to maintain these artificially high hormone levels, which are the intended result of cross-sex hormone therapy, they were granted an &#8220;exception&#8221; from weaning off of the outlawed drugs, according to the lawsuit.
Paxton said “there was no legitimate medical basis for their recommendation regarding bone health,” and the protocol was “always a pretext for patients to continue illegal cross-sex hormones,&#8221; as stated in the lawsuit.
&#8220;There is no evidence to justify maintaining these hormone levels over prolonged periods of time. The vast medical literature on this topic shows that these hormonal treatments did not produce the desired effect of improving psychological well-being,” <a href="https://donoharmmedicine.org/?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpm&amp;utm_campaign=gg&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=20707841002&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAo-mml0lKhEjcTG1qPvNZ-1InzHPM&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAhtvMBhDBARIsAL26pjGko9yt7rnE12NZnMRYmHQmENC5qfv_zJoBEEi7b_Tigf_gGa9qfHEaAu4wEALw_wcB" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Do No Harm</a> chairman Dr. Stanley Goldfarb told The Daily Wire. “Moreover, they are involved with all of the unfortunate side effects, including the potential for sterility as well as a number of genital problems associated with prolonged exposure to contra-sex hormones.&#8221;
Patients were also granted an exception from weaning off cross-sex hormones if their mental health team failed to document their “mental health stability at least every six months,” according to the lawsuit.
The same initial intake criteria used by UT Southwestern and Children’s to begin medicalizing gender confused children was used to continue cross-sex hormone therapy under the wean protocol, according to the lawsuit.
The 75-page lawsuit outlined multiple allegations of billing fraud and the subversion of SB-14, providing examples from multiple patients.
In the lawsuit, Texas claims both defendants violated the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act and the Texas Business &amp; Commerce Code. It also claims Dr. Jarin “knowingly” violated SB-14 “with respect to at least twelve minor patients.”
“Jarin and Children’s conspired to subvert compliance with SB-14 and to receive reimbursement for gender interventions in violation of State law. Defendants conspired to violate SB-14 and therefore receive reimbursement from Texas Medicaid in violation of State law and regulation,” states the lawsuit.
The federal government has not stated an intention to get involved in the Texas situation, but allegations of Medicaid fraud could draw interest from the Department of Justice.
UT Southwestern Medical Center did not immediately respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment.

Ken Paxton

Texas Attorney General Says Radical Doctor Broke The Law To Give Minors Sex-Rejection Interventions

Texas

Transgender

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Announces He’s Ending His Reelection Bid

The Somali Daycare Scam Is Just The Tip Of The Iceberg. The Truth Will Shock You.

childcare

Health Care

Health Insurance

Matt Walsh

Somalis

Democrat witness Brendan Ballou claimed during a Wednesday hearing that the influx of Somali immigrants made his home state of Minnesota &#8220;stronger&#8221; – but Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) brought data that said the exact opposite.
During the hearing — which was scheduled as part of an investigation into widespread fraud in Minnesota that has been linked to the Somali immigrant community — Gill posed a direct question to the former federal prosecutor, asking whether Somalis made the state weaker or stronger.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This Democrat witness claims large-scale Somali immigration makes Minnesota stronger.
The numbers tell a different story. <a href="https://t.co/ufxlVgwqLa">pic.twitter.com/ufxlVgwqLa</a>
— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepBrandonGill/status/2008934421403934728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Does large-scale Somali immigration make Minnesota stronger or weaker?&#8221; Gill asked.
&#8220;Certainly stronger,&#8221; Ballou said.
&#8220;Certainly stronger,&#8221; Gill repeated. &#8220;Do you know what percentage of Somali-headed households in Minnesota are on food stamps?&#8221;
Ballou did not.
&#8220;Fifty-four percent,&#8221; Gill replied. &#8220;Do you know what that number is for native Minnesota-headed households?&#8221;
Ballou protested, &#8220;Well, to be clear, a majority of the —&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s seven percent,&#8221; Gill continued. &#8220;There&#8217;s a big difference between fifty-four percent and seven percent, is there not?&#8221;
&#8220;Excuse me, sir, could I answer the question?&#8221; Ballou asked.
&#8220;Let me move on, we&#8217;ve got a lot of questions here,&#8221; Gill said, asking, &#8220;What percentage of Somali-headed households are on Medicaid?&#8221;
Ballou did not know.
&#8220;It&#8217;s seventy-three percent,&#8221; Gill said. &#8220;Do you know what that number is for Minnesota native households?&#8221;
Ballou once again objected to the terminology, but did not answer the question.
&#8220;The number is eighteen percent,&#8221; Gill replied. &#8220;That&#8217;s quite an astounding difference, I think we would agree.&#8221;
Ballou continued to protest about Gill&#8217;s use of the term &#8220;native Minnesotan,&#8221; but made no move to supply answers to Gill&#8217;s questions.
&#8220;Let me ask you one more, and then we can go into that,&#8221; Gill said. &#8220;What percentage of Somali-headed households are on welfare in general?&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; Ballou conceded.
&#8220;It&#8217;s eighty-one percent. What about — let me just ask you, after ten years of being in the United States, what percentage of Somali immigrant households are on — continue to be on welfare?&#8221; Gill pressed again, and again Ballou did not know the answer until Gill provided it: &#8220;The number is seventy-eight percent. So even after ten years, seventy-eight percent of Somali immigrant households continue to be on welfare. Do you know what that number is for native Minnesota-headed households? Non-Somali immigrant-headed households.&#8221;
Ballou protested again, claiming, &#8220;You&#8217;re using the phrase &#8216;native Minnesotans,&#8217; the majority of Somali Minnesotans are as Minnesotan as any of us, they were born in the United States —&#8221;
&#8220;Nevertheless, the welfare usage is astoundingly different,&#8221; Gill declared.

House Oversight Committee Holds Hearing On Minnesota Fraud Investigation

Dem Witness Says Somali Immigrants Make Minnesota ‘Stronger.’ GOP Rep’s Receipts Say Otherwise.

Dem Witness Says Somali Immigrants Make Minnesota 'Stronger.' GOP Rep's Receipts Say Otherwise

Food Stamps

Politics

Welfare

Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, announced Tuesday that Medicaid payments to 14 programs in Minnesota will be deferred, and that a sweeping audit of those federally funded programs is underway, as the Minnesota fraud scandal and the response from the Trump administration continue to escalate.
“The more we uncover, the more it becomes clear: It’s much worse than we were led to believe by state government officials,” he said in a video posted to X. Oz said that the “corrective action plan” provided to the federal government by the state of Minnesota on New Year’s Eve was “deeply insufficient.”
“We will begin auditing Medicaid receipts and defer paying on claims based on fraud, waste, and abuse,” he said, noting that the programs listed as vulnerable came from the Minnesota state government.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨Minnesota Medicaid Fraud Update: <a href="https://t.co/Dk0W07P1U8">pic.twitter.com/Dk0W07P1U8</a>
— DrOzCMS (@DrOzCMS) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrOzCMS/status/2008737548009717925?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
The Daily Wire reached out to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s office for comment on the remarks from Oz.
The announcement comes after Health and Human Services said last week that federal child care payments would be paused as well. Governor Walz opted not to seek re-election amid the intense scrutiny from fraud allegations within the Medicaid system and other federally funded, state-administered social services programs.
On Tuesday, an <a href="https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/meeting/mm/mm_Auditor_LAC-20260106-DHSBHAG-Pres.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">audit</a> from the Office of the Legislative Auditor underscored concerns in the state with a critical look at Behavioral Health Administration Grants through the state’s Department of Human Services.
The report said that the Behavioral Health Administration “did not comply with most requirements [the audit] tested.” The report recommended that BHA “Establish sufficient internal controls to ensure compliance with grant requirements” and “conduct grant monitoring activities as required by state policies.”
Specifically, the report said that the BHA “paid almost $296,000 to 11 out of 18 grantees for: Unsupported costs [and] Reimbursement requests with errors.” It also said that BHA “overpaid” over $41,000 to two entities with grants, and gave “$915,540 to 6 grantees for work performed before BHA executed grant agreements.” In addition, over a dozen “existing grantees” received $2.5 million despite “bypassing [the] competitive grant award process.”
In response to the audit’s findings, Shireen Gandhi, the temporary commissioner for Minnesota&#8217;s Department of Human Services, said the findings are a “road map” for improvement at a legislative hearing on Tuesday.
“With respect to the audit report, while it’s upsetting that DHS has findings in areas we have placed concerted effort, the OLA’s report highlights the importance of the grant compliance work already underway at the department. And the findings provide us with a road map for our focus going forward to continue strengthening oversight and integrity of behavioral health grants,” Gandhi said. “I take the report seriously, I accept responsibility for the findings, and I will ensure DHS closes the findings.”
In Washington, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing regarding the fraud concerns.
&#8220;The breadth and depth of this fraud is breathtaking, and I fear that this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said during the hearing.
Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, took aim at the Trump administration while explaining his decision not to pursue a third term as governor.
“I won’t mince words here. Donald Trump and his allies – in Washington, in St. Paul, and online – want to make our state a colder, meaner place,” the Democrat stated.
“They want to poison our people against each other by attacking our neighbors. And, ultimately, they want to take away much of what makes Minnesota the best place in America to raise a family. They’ve already begun by taking our tax dollars that were meant to help families afford child care. And they have no intention of stopping there,” the governor added.

dea60e29-a11e-4e96-8a5e-3a6f3ffdaef8

Dr. Oz Blasts Minnesota’s ‘Deeply Insufficient’ Plan As Feds Audit Medicaid Payments

'Deeply Insufficient' Minnesota Plan Blasted By Dr. Oz As Feds Audit Medicaid Payments

Congress

Dr. Oz

Health

WASHINGTON—One of the main blue-state plaintiffs suing the Trump administration for sharing Medicaid beneficiary data with the Department of Homeland Security cannot produce evidence showing that the policy causes harm, filings first shared with The Daily Wire show.
Hawaii joined California and 18 other states in the suit, which contends that sharing Medicaid data with Homeland Security puts beneficiaries in harm’s way and at risk for deportation.
America First Legal submitted records demands for documents showing any data leaks or improper disclosures, instances of Medicaid information reaching immigration authorities, increased hospital costs or uncompensated care, drops in enrollment or reluctance from noncitizens, any administrative burden, any deaths or adverse patient outcomes, and interference with the state’s ability to administer Medicaid.
Filings viewed by The Daily Wire show that Hawaii could not produce any documents on these topics, and the state’s reasoning was that it does not have the records for these requests. America First Legal maintains that this shows that the state has no evidence to back up its claim that the Trump policy causes harm.
“The State of Hawaii produced a declaration stating, ‘As far as Med-QUEST is aware, CMS has not disclosed Medicaid PII data for Hawai‘i Medicaid enrollees to date,’” said America First Legal Vice President Dan Epstein, adding: “Case closed.”
Hawaii’s Medicaid program, Med-QUEST, is administered by the state’s Department of Human Services. Court filings show that Med-QUEST already shares protected health information with the federal government every month.
“Med-QUEST provides health coverage to 400,000 low-income Hawaii residents,” the court filings state. “In addition, Hawaii administers federally funded emergency Medicaid benefits that provide emergency care and services to individuals regardless of their immigration status.”
“Med-QUEST routinely shares protected health information concerning Hawaii residents and their use of Medicaid healthcare services with CMS. Med-QUEST sends data to T-MSIS on a regular basis, and also responds to occasional CMS requests for additional information concerning Medicaid claims and the use of federal dollars.”
Yet Hawaii claimed in court that the Trump policy sharing Medicaid data with DHS would harm the state. America First Legal is arguing that since Hawaii can’t produce the records it requested, Hawaii appears to lack “a concrete and particularized injury from the Trump Administration’s action,” and should not be able to proceed.
The legal group had similar victories over California and Washington in these states’ cases against the Trump administration: California and Washington had sued over Trump’s executive order on “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” as well as his order on “Protecting The Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.”
“Without actual harm, Hawaii lacks standing to sue,” Epstein said in a statement on Tuesday. “The American people deserve better than having the federal courts clogged with political theater that obstructs the policies of a popularly elected President.”

President Trump Spends Weekend At Mar-A-Lago Estate In Palm Beach

Hawaii Says Trump’s Medicaid Policy Is Harmful. They Can’t Prove It.

Donald Trump

Hawaii

A Colorado woman bled on the emergency room floor while <a href="https://www.walb.com/video/2023/08/25/anybody-could-have-died-patients-recall-waiting-12-hours-mercy-south-hospital-er/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">waiting 12 hours</a> for care. A New York man who feared he had appendicitis waited eight hours while repeatedly vomiting and passing out. A cancer survivor in <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2025/03/10/ucsf-emergency-wait-times/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco</a> waited 28 hours for a doctor to examine her injured leg. By the time she saw a doctor, she was paralyzed.
ER wait times have been steadily increasing since 2012, spiking during the coronavirus pandemic. Today, they&#8217;re higher than ever.
What is happening in America&#8217;s emergency rooms?
A <a href="https://ihpi.umich.edu/news-events/news/wait-times-emergency-hospitalization-keep-getting-higher?" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new study</a> published in the journal Health Affairs looked at data from 46 million emergency visits across all 50 states since 2017. Researchers found a national increase in wait times, with the average wait time exceeding four hours. Additionally, 5% of patients waited more than 24 hours to get assistance.
Notably, the study did not factor people leaving the ER before they received care, which is typically referred to as ER &#8220;abandonment.&#8221;
Staffing shortages are certainly a factor, but they alone can&#8217;t explain increased wait times.
According to <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/author/niklas_kleinworth/?mab_v3=9924" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Niklas Kleinworth</a>, a policy analyst at the Paragon Health Institute, the problem is largely due to the lack of financial incentives in the American healthcare system.
“I think that the increased ER wait times are actually one of the big <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/newsletter/the-falsehoods-of-obamacare/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broken promises of Obamacare</a>,&#8221; Kleinworth told The Daily Wire on Thursday. &#8220;When that law was passed, we were promised that if you gave people more healthcare coverage, they would see their primary care physician instead of going to the ER. They would have more access. But we&#8217;ve actually seen the opposite.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;ve seen that a lot of the financial incentives for people to take care of themselves and go see their regular physician haven&#8217;t come to fruition,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;And so now people are going to the emergency room to get routine care instead.”
Kleinworth said expanding telehealth services could help solve this problem. In Montana, for example, after Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed a bill in 2021 to increase telehealth access and eliminate certain restrictions, emergency department visits <a href="https://mthf.org/news/2024-medicaid-in-mt-press-release/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decreased </a>with Medicaid enrollees. Mental health services were also more accessible and cost-effective for residents in rural communities and the Native population.
Another problem is the increased rate of rural hospital closures. With fewer rural hospitals, Americans from these areas are forced to travel longer distances to city hospitals, adding to already congested ERs.
Kleinworth explained that federal programs like the 340B Drug Pricing Program actually “encourage consolidation.&#8221; As a result, we’re seeing large urban hospitals buy up small rural hospitals to capitalize incentives meant for rural areas.
Larger city hospitals &#8220;benefit from a lot of the programs that were designed for those [rural] hospitals, like 340B Drug Pricing Program,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And then they&#8217;ll reduce access to services in those areas and redirect them to more wealthy areas where the margins are higher.”
He also highlighted some other &#8220;pretty basic solutions,&#8221; like making sure government programs designed to help rural facilities actually help rural facilities.
Kleinworth also noted that a little deregulation could go a long way to increase health care access.
&#8220;For example, in the state of Idaho, they allow non-physicians like pharmacists to be able to practice at the top of their license. And a lot of people receive their primary care through their pharmacists now,&#8221; Kleinworth said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said this month that <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/10/02/opinion/democrats-are-spending-money-on-healthcare-for-illegal-migrants-in-california-its-6-4-billion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">illegal immigrants</a> are driving up ER wait times and healthcare costs alike. Democrats say that giving illegals full access to the American healthcare marketplace will help alleviate stress on emergency rooms.
Kleinworth isn&#8217;t so sure.
“Unfortunately, no, that&#8217;s not the solution,&#8221; Kleinworth told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Take California, for example. California is one of those states where they&#8217;ve offered healthcare benefits to illegals for years now. The promise was that it was going to allow them to access their primary care and they won&#8217;t have to go to the emergency rooms anymore. But we find that California actually has some of the highest ER wait times in the country. They also have some of the highest abandonment rates in the country.”
Ultimately, Kleinworth says, we need to seriously overhaul Medicaid.
&#8220;The problem here is that the way the system is designed, it prioritizes able-bodied working-age adults over pregnant women, the disabled, elderly, and children,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And what we saw with Medicaid expansion, a lot of those people were less likely to be able to access their specialists, their primary care physician, so it also increased the ER wait times.&#8221;
&#8220;Refocusing the program on the truly needy, instead of able-bodied working-age adults would help,&#8221; Kleinworth said, noting that President Donald Trump&#8217;s big, beautiful bill &#8220;made a lot of progress toward that.&#8221;

Hospital closure in Madera, CA

Why ER Wait Times Are So Out Of Control — And How To Fix Them

Why ER Wait Times Are So Out OF Control, And How To Fix It

Hospitals

Federal Government Shuts Down After Congress Fails To Pass Funding Bill

Democrats Have Been Trying To Cover Up One The Biggest Healthcare Scams Ever

Government Shutdown

Healthcare

illegal immigrants

Opinion

If you watched CNN this week, you’ve probably seen clips of host Kaitlan Collins “fact-checking” Republican lawmakers on the government shutdown.
These exchanges follow the same pattern. The Republican says that Democrats shut the government down because they want to give free healthcare to illegal immigrants. Collins <a href="https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/1973573706602652035" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tells them</a> that federal Medicaid funding can’t go to illegals. They start talking about Obamacare, and she says that illegal immigrants have <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/01/politics/video/kaitlan-collins-mike-johnson-fact-check-ldndigvid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">never been eligible</a> for Obamacare subsidies.
In all these clips, Collins seems confident while Republicans seem like they’re trying to talk their way out of the exchange. They’re making wild accusations, while she’s simply stating facts.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I questioned Speaker Mike Johnson tonight on the claim being made by Republicans that Democrats want to give free health care to “illegal aliens” in the government shutdown fight. <a href="https://t.co/sjvnQwxTKN">pic.twitter.com/sjvnQwxTKN</a>
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1973210626853130329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Here’s the problem: Collins is wrong.
Republicans seem like they’re talking in circles because this is an incredibly complex issue, and Democrats are trying to make it even more complicated. Collins, like Democrats and other members of the media, is talking about what the law says. Republicans are talking about what actually happens.
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It’s true that federal Medicaid dollars can’t go to illegals. And it’s true that illegals aren’t eligible for Obamacare subsidies. But it’s also true that federal Medicaid dollars do go to illegal immigrants, and illegal immigrants do enroll in taxpayer-subsidized Obamacare plans.
Facts are stubborn things. And the fact is that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) imposed safeguards to stop illegal immigrants from improperly accessing federal healthcare benefits. The fact is, the Democrats’ funding bill would roll back those safeguards.
That’s the shutdown fight in a nutshell. But, if you want all the facts so you can really school your liberal buddy — or if you’re a Republican congressman who just booked an interview with Kaitlan Collins — here’s a crash course in the healthcare battle that has ground Washington to a halt.
<h3>Rolling Back The Big, Beautiful Bill</h3>
The Democrat funding proposal would simultaneously repeal a number of provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that, taken together, would make it possible for illegal immigrants to get taxpayer-funded healthcare.
Democrats and the media are using this fact to their advantage. To the Chuck Schumers and Kaitlan Collinses of the world, because the Democrat funding bill, which House Republicans have named the <a href="https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/democrat-counterfeit-resolution-15-trillion-ransom-note-taxpayers">Counterfeit Resolution</a>, isn’t called “The Free Healthcare For Illegal Immigrants Act of 2025,” that must mean the bill wouldn’t let illegals get healthcare.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This is a lie. Not a single federal dollar goes to providing health insurance for undocumented immigrants. NOT. ONE. PENNY.
Republicans would rather lie and shut down the government down than protect your health care. <a href="https://t.co/yfVsFUivMy">https://t.co/yfVsFUivMy</a>
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1973174156725461480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Of course, that’s not how policy works. That’s not how anything works, really.
The Heritage Foundation has a <a href="https://www.heritage.org/budget-and-spending/report/yes-senate-democrats-have-shut-down-the-government-over-giving-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">good breakdown</a> of how section 2141 of the Democrat funding bill would roll back the OBBBA’s healthcare provisions. Most importantly, the bill would allow all “qualified aliens” to apply for Medicaid — as opposed to limiting eligibility to lawful permanent residents — and once again expand the federal match rate for state Medicaid programs.
Medicaid is funded jointly by states and the federal government. For every dollar a state pays, the federal government matches it with a payment of its own. The matching rate differs by state, and under the Biden administration, it was dramatically expanded.
This is what Kaitlan Collins was referring to when she told Rep. Mike Lawler (D-NY)  that there was a difference between “state and federal dollars” when it came to giving health benefits to illegal immigrants. Her point, it seems, was that while states can spend Medicaid money on illegals, the federal government is legally barred from doing so.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler says he opposes the Trump administration freezing roughly $18 billion for a pair of New York City infrastructure projects amid the government shutdown. <a href="https://t.co/QoHomfBiW7">pic.twitter.com/QoHomfBiW7</a>
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) <a href="https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1973573706602652035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
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But money is fungible — which means that, once those federal Medicaid dollars hit state bank accounts, it’s off to the races.
Just look at California, which has proudly expanded its Medicaid program to cover illegal aliens. Technically, it must cover illegal enrollees with state dollars. But California has devised a clever money laundering scheme wherein it taxes healthcare providers to fund its Medicaid program. The more it raises provider taxes, the more it gets from the federal government.
The result? Over <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/medicaid/californias-insurance-tax-shuffle-how-federal-money-ends-up-paying-for-medicaid-for-illegal-immigrants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$5 billion</a> in healthcare for illegal aliens.
The OBBBA repealed an emergency 90% Medicaid match rate for illegal immigrants. Democrats’ funding bill would bring it back, putting taxpayers on the hook for the majority of costs of illegals enrolled in Medicaid — a population that would swell under the bill’s expansive “qualified alien” category. After that, nothing would stop states like New York and Massachusetts from following in California’s footsteps.
<h3>The Obamacare Free-For-All</h3>
Like with Medicaid, the OBBBA tightened eligibility requirements for noncitizens applying for Obamacare premium subsidies. Like with Medicaid, the Democrats’ funding bill would roll that back.
It gets worse.
During COVID, President Joe Biden signed legislation that expanded eligibility for Obamacare subsidies to those making up to 400% above the federal poverty level. That means these taxpayer-funded subsidies, meant to help the poorest Americans afford Obamacare plans, were available to people making <a href="http://kff.org/affordable-care-act/inflation-reduction-act-health-insurance-subsidies-what-is-their-impact-and-what-would-happen-if-they-expire/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over $100,000 a year.</a> The legislation also <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/ghostbusting-aca-fraud-millions-who-dont-use-their-health-insurance-expose-abuse-in-the-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made Obamacare free</a> for people making between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level.
Let’s set aside the fact that the federal government needs to spend billions of dollars paying for Americans to enroll in ostensibly &#8220;affordable&#8221; healthcare plans. Blowing open these doors has also led to a shocking surge in fraud.
According to the Paragon Health Institute, <a href="https://paragoninstitute.org/private-health/ghostbusting-aca-fraud-millions-who-dont-use-their-health-insurance-expose-abuse-in-the-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">6.4 million more people</a> qualified for free Obamacare than actually exist between 100% and 150% of the federal poverty level.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
📊 New Paragon resource: Obamacare Fraud, by the Numbers
The one-stop shop for data on improper enrollment, zero-claim enrollees, and billions in wasted subsidies.<a href="https://t.co/SbzEULJx3D">https://t.co/SbzEULJx3D</a> <a href="https://t.co/8DC5oGJjGB">pic.twitter.com/8DC5oGJjGB</a>
— Paragon Health Institute (@Paragon_Inst) <a href="https://twitter.com/Paragon_Inst/status/1973431605772558576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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So, more than 6 million people got free healthcare for which they were not eligible. All told, improper enrollees accounted for 26% of the Obamacare population in 2025. Bizarrely, 11.7 million people enrolled in Obamacare in 2024 never made a single claim — up from 3.4 million in 2021.
Democrats say this is a result of more young, healthy Americans enrolling in Obamacare plans but not needing to go to the doctor. Experts say it’s the result of widespread fraud.
Either way, it cost taxpayers more than $35 billion last year.
<h3>Healthcare For Illegals: It&#8217;s What&#8217;s Happening</h3>
If expanding Medicaid eligibility and federal matching didn’t help illegal immigrants get taxpayer-funded healthcare, this certainly will. Tightening eligibility requirements doesn’t just save money — it makes it easier for the government to prevent fraud. When pretty much everyone’s eligible for subsidies, preventing fraud is effectively impossible.
So, to recap: the next time someone tells you federal Medicaid dollars don’t go to illegals, remind them that money is fungible. And the next time someone tells you illegals aren’t allowed to enroll in federal health insurance programs, remind them that, last year, we spent $35 billion on health insurance for ghosts.

Untitled design (48)

Yes, Democrats Want To Give Illegals Free Healthcare. Here Are The Facts.

Kaitlan Collins

Obamacare

In a huge victory for Oklahoma, Congress recently passed President Donald Trump’s &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill,&#8221; which, among many wins, will deliver the largest-ever tax cut for working and middle-class families, secure the border, and lower energy costs.
Unfortunately, Washington Democrats who are desperate to change the media narrative after a brutal 2024 election loss have made it their mission to lie about this bill and mislead American families — especially on Medicaid program improvements.
Democrats claim the bill guts the program. But in reality, Republicans voted to protect and strengthen Medicaid for those who need it most.
Medicaid’s long-term stability is at risk. During the Obama administration, Democrats expanded Medicaid eligibility to include able-bodied adults — adding 20 million able-bodied people to the program rolls between 2013 and 2021. Today, roughly 35 million Americans are living below the poverty line, while over 70 million people are on Medicaid. What’s worse, a stunning 36% of Medicaid spending is on able-bodied working-age adults — most of whom are not working.
What was first designed as a critical social safety net for America’s most vulnerable — including pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, and low-income seniors and families — has quickly ballooned into an unsustainable mess at risk of bankruptcy.
The Big, Beautiful Bill will protect Medicaid benefits for those who need them most and help move millions of able-bodied adults with no children from welfare to work — all while saving taxpayers billions of dollars. By the way, only in Washington is increasing current Medicaid spending levels by 20% over the next 10 years seen as a “cut.”
<div id="attachment_946503" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-946503" class="size-large wp-image-946503" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2217840160-864x576.jpg" alt="Senator Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, bounces a ball after leaving the office of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. President Donald Trump worked the phones Monday and took to social media to try to sway Republican holdouts on his multi-trillion dollar tax bill, encountering conflicting demands from GOP senators even as he urged them to move swiftly. Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2217840160-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2217840160-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2217840160-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2217840160.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
This bill includes popular Clinton-era work requirements for able-bodied adults ages 19-64 with no dependents, and includes exceptions for pregnant women, new mothers, and those facing short-term hardships. Under this commonsense law, eligible recipients must complete 20 hours of work, education, or volunteering per week to receive taxpayer-funded Medicaid benefits.
To protect and sustain the Medicaid program, the only people who will see a change in coverage are illegal immigrants, those who are already ineligible for the program, and able-bodied adults ages 19-64 with dependents over 14 years old who choose not to work, volunteer, or go to school for just 20 hours per week.
Most Americans recognize that without commonsense reform, Medicaid would be at a higher risk of collapse. As promised, Republicans are getting the waste, fraud, and abuse out of Medicaid to protect the well-being of America’s most vulnerable. Despite the Democrats&#8217; gross lies, the &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; will strengthen and protect the social safety net for every eligible American who needs it. In passing President Trump&#8217;s historic bill, Republicans are ensuring Medicaid can better serve the neediest Americans for generations to come.
U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin represents the state of Oklahoma. He serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee; the Appropriations Committee; the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; and the Indian Affairs Committee.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Republican Lawmakers Work To Pass Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” On Capitol Hill

How The One Big, Beautiful Bill Sustains And Saves Medicaid

John Thune

Markwayne Mullin

President Trump

Tax Cuts

U.S. Senate

The Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/national-health-care-fraud-takedown-results-324-defendants-charged-connection-over-146" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the results of its annual healthcare fraud “takedown” this week, in which they charged 324 defendants with $14.6 billion of medical fraud.
Defendants include 96 licensed medical professionals “in 50 federal districts and 12 State Attorneys General’s Offices across the United States.”
“With more than $13 billion in fraud uncovered, this is the largest takedown for this initiative to date,” said FBI director Kash Patel. The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">initiative</a> identified $2.75 billion in fraud in 2024 and $2.5 billion in 2023.
“The government seized over $245 million in cash, luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency, and other assets,” the Justice Department stated.
In addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “prevented over $4 billion from being paid in response to false and fraudulent claims and that it suspended or revoked the billing privileges of 205 providers in the months leading up to the Takedown.” Civil charges and settlements amount to another $48.5 million.
The busted fraud schemes involve identity theft, fraudulent wound care, prescription opioid trafficking, and fake telemedicine claims.
One transnational criminal organization alone was responsible for $10.6 billion of the $14.6 billion in total fraud identified.
A network of foreign individuals “strategically bought dozens of medical supply companies located across the United States,” then used the stolen identities of over a million Americans to submit fraudulent Medicare claims for “urinary catheters and other durable medical equipment.”
In another case, foreign individuals relied on artificial intelligence to carry out identity theft.
“The defendants allegedly used artificial intelligence to create fake recordings of Medicare beneficiaries purportedly consenting to receive certain products,” the Justice Department says. The recordings were then “sold to laboratories and durable medical equipment companies, which used this unlawfully obtained and fraudulently generated data to submit false claims to Medicare.”
So far, the government has recovered $44.7 million of the $418 million paid on these claims.
Other defendants allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for unnecessary amniotic wound grafts, targeting elderly patients and receiving “millions in illegal kickbacks from the fraudulent billing scheme.”
Agency and department heads affirmed their commitment to rooting out health care fraud schemes, emphasizing how they harm patients and Americans.
The schemes “often result in physical patient harm through medically unnecessary treatments or failure to provide the correct treatments,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, adding that medical fraudsters steal “ money hardworking Americans contribute to pay for the care of their elders and other vulnerable citizens.”
“This record-setting Health Care Fraud Takedown delivers justice to criminal actors who prey upon our most vulnerable citizens and steal from hardworking American taxpayers,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
“Make no mistake — this administration will not tolerate criminals who line their pockets with taxpayer dollars while endangering the health and safety of our communities.”

President Trump Swears In Steve Witkoff As Special Envoy

Trump Justice Department Exposes $14 Billion In Medicare and Medicaid Fraud

Department of Justice

Medicare

Pam Bondi

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