2026年10月5日 美国东部时间14:08:28 / 福克斯新闻
30多名州政府雇员举报遭监视或解雇后，玛丽安妮特·米勒-米克斯议员提出该法案
作者：基拉·麦克唐纳、安德鲁·马克·米勒 福克斯新闻
发布于2026年10月5日 美国东部时间下午2:08
议员们就大规模欺诈指控审视医疗补助监督失职问题
众议院能源与商务小组委员会的议员们就大规模欺诈和监督不力的指控，质询了来自加利福尼亚州、俄亥俄州、明尼苏达州和纽约州的医疗补助官员。
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独家报道：福克斯新闻首发 曾揭露明尼苏达州等州涉嫌造成纳税人数百万美元损失的医疗补助欺诈的举报人，在指控遭到州政府官员报复后，有望根据众议院共和党法案获得新的保护。
爱荷华州共和党众议员玛丽安妮特·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举报欺诈预警信号的州和地方医疗补助工作人员建立联邦保护机制，其中包括合同违规和异常金融交易等情况。
“任何公职人员都不应被迫在良知和生计之间做出选择，”米勒-米克斯在福克斯新闻数字频道独家获得的一份新闻稿中表示。“举报医疗补助项目中的欺诈、浪费和滥用行为的举报人，正在保护纳税人的资金以及该项目旨在服务的弱势群体，他们理应获得真正的保护，而不是遭到报复。”
该法案将禁止雇主解雇、降职、威胁、骚扰或歧视举报欺诈行为、违法行为、严重管理不善、滥用职权或危害公共健康与安全的医疗补助工作人员。
明尼苏达州“试图掩盖欺诈指控”，前州警指控称
明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·瓦尔茨于2026年1月5日在圣保罗州议会大厦宣布不会寻求连任，当时明尼苏达州正面临其历史上最大规模的社会服务欺诈丑闻之一。（杰里·霍尔特/明尼阿波利斯星坛报 via 盖蒂图片社）
遭到报复的工作人员还可能获得复职、两倍拖欠工资加利息、律师费以及惩罚性赔偿。
该法案的出台背景是，30多名现任和前任明尼苏达州人类服务部员工在今年1月发表联名信，指出早在2019年就有员工因举报欺诈行为而遭到“系统性报复”，部分人指控自己遭到监视、调查、岗位调动和解雇。
“我将奋力确保那些敢于说出真相的人得到保护，而不是被封口，”米勒-米克斯说道。
今年3月，多名共和党议员就这封联名信以及该州猖獗的欺诈问题，质询明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·瓦尔茨和总检察长基思·埃利森，询问他们何时首次得知这些欺诈计划和报复指控。
当被问及报复指控时，瓦尔茨表示自己“并未具体了解”相关情况，并多次拒绝回应这些指控。此次欺诈案涉及与多个州资助援助项目相关的超过9000万美元的涉嫌欺诈索赔。
瓦尔茨在面临欺诈丑闻“严峻考验”听证会前夕解雇高级明尼苏达州官员
爱荷华州共和党众议员玛丽安妮特·米勒-米克斯于2025年12月16日在众议院共和党会议结束后，在国会游客中心出席新闻发布会。（CQ-Roll Call, Inc via 盖蒂图片社）
明尼苏达州众议院预防欺诈与州机构监督委员会主席克里斯汀·罗宾斯议员支持该法案，称政客和机构领导人为保护“他们的政治基础”而针对举报人。
“运营这些项目的联邦、州和县级工作人员往往是最早发现危险信号的人，但正如我们在明尼苏达州多次看到的那样，如果他们敢于指出问题，就会被贴上种族主义者的标签，被指控制造恶劣工作环境，遭到降职、岗位调动或以其他方式在个人和职业层面受到伤害，”罗宾斯说道。
该法案是众议院能源与商务委员会共和党人“持续打击欺诈”一揽子计划中的14项措施之一，该计划由委员会主席肯塔基州共和党众议员布雷特·格思里牵头。该一揽子计划旨在更轻松地检测欺诈行为、追回不当付款并加强问责。
米勒-米克斯牵头的另一项法案《瓦尔茨法案》，将要求卫生与公众服务部监察长办公室对任何财政年度内六个月内总支付额增长10%或以上的项目展开调查。
白宫推动“具有里程碑意义”的反欺诈改革法案，万斯牵头组建特别工作组
明尼苏达州总检察长基思·埃利森于2026年2月12日在参议院国土安全与政府事务委员会作证。（格雷姆·斯隆/彭博社 via 盖蒂图片社）
格思里指责拜登政府时期的监督失职，导致欺诈行为在政府医疗项目中“不受制约”。
“欺诈者偷走的每一美元，或是被不当支付浪费掉的每一美元，都是从依靠这些项目的有需要的家庭支持中拿走的，”他说道。
该法案将于2028年1月1日生效，届时特朗普政府将继续通过由副总统J·D·万斯牵头的反欺诈特别工作组打击欺诈行为。
点击此处下载福克斯新闻APP
福克斯新闻数字频道已联系瓦尔茨和埃利森的办公室征求评论。
基拉·麦克唐纳是福克斯新闻数字频道制作助理。
House GOP bill moves to close whistleblower gaps exposed by Minnesota Medicaid fraud scandal
2026-10-05 14:08:28 EDT / Fox News
Rep Mariannette Miller-Meeks introduced the measure after 30-plus state employees reported being surveilled or fired
By Kiera McDonald, Andrew Mark Miller Fox News
Published October 5, 2026 2:08pm EDT
Lawmakers examine Medicaid oversight failures amid widespread fraud allegations
Lawmakers on a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee question Medicaid officials from California, Ohio, Minnesota, and New York regarding accusations of widespread fraud and inadequate oversight.
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FIRST ON FOX: Whistleblowers who pulled back the curtain on Medicaid fraud that allegedly cost taxpayers millions of dollars in states like Minnesota could gain new protections under a House GOP bill after alleging they faced retaliation from state leaders.
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.
“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.
MINNESOTA ‘TRIED TO COVER UP FRAUD ALLEGATIONS,’ FORMER STATE TROOPER ALLEGES
Gov. Tim Walz announces that he would not seek re-election on Jan. 5, 2026, at the State Capitol in St. Paul, as Minnesota confronts one of the largest social services fraud scandals in its history.(Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Workers who face retaliation could also receive reinstatement, twice their back pay plus interest, attorneys’ fees and punitive damages.
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.
“I will fight to make sure the people willing to tell the truth are protected, not silenced.” Miller-Meeks said.
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.
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.
WALZ REMOVES TOP MINNESOTA OFFICIAL ON EVE OF ‘GAUNTLET’ HEARING OVER FRAUD SCANDAL
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, attends a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center after a meeting of the House Republican Conference on Dec. 16, 2025.(CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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.
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.
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.
WHITE HOUSE PUSHES ‘WATERSHED’ FRAUD-FIGHTING REFORM IN CONGRESS AS VANCE CONVENES TASK FORCE
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Feb. 12, 2026.(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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.
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.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s and Ellison’s offices for comment.
Kiera McDonald is a Production Assistant for Fox News Digital.
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