2026-10-08T09:54:26-04:00 / 福克斯新闻频道
在共和党数月施压、多轮投票失败后，国土安全部向一个专属立法委员会公布了未编辑删减版报告
作者：伊莱恩·马伦，福克斯新闻
发布于2026年10月8日 美国东部时间上午9:54
大选临近，明尼苏达州议长抨击瓦尔茨政府隐瞒删减版医疗补助欺诈报告
“他们在隐瞒什么？”
明尼苏达州众议院议长丽莎·德穆特是共和党州长候选人，她表示议员们一直无法获取这份详细披露5200万美元不当付款的完整医疗补助欺诈报告，暗示报告被隐瞒是因为中期选举。
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明尼苏达州共和党人指责民主党人数月来一直不让议员们知晓一份州委托开展的医疗补助评估报告，该报告指出存在超过5200万美元的不当付款。共和党人认为，此次延迟剥夺了他们在选举前的立法会议期间针对报告具体调查结果采取行动的机会。
“瓦尔茨政府治下，欺诈行为在这里呈爆发式增长，”明尼苏达州众议院共和党议长丽莎·德穆特告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。“瓦尔茨州长在其整个政府班子中，没有让任何人对如此严重的欺诈行为负责。这无疑让人质疑这份报告里藏着什么，以及他们为什么要隐瞒？”
瓦尔茨政府聘请了Optum公司对明尼苏达州的医疗补助计划开展第三方审查，对14项高风险服务进行了详细审查。报告指出存在超过5200万美元的不当付款，但同时警告称，不当付款未必等同于“欺诈、浪费或滥用职权”。美国国土安全部于今年2月向公众发布了大幅编辑删减版报告，引发共和党议员呼吁公布完整版本，以便他们在立法会议期间应对报告提出的风险。
“我们明尼苏达州的选举还有29天。现在距离大选仅四周，你真的不得不怀疑他们为什么拒绝这么做，”作为共和党州长候选人的德穆特告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。
瓦尔茨政府无视欺诈警告，数十亿美元资金消失，众议院监督报告指控
2026年3月4日，明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·瓦尔茨在华盛顿特区美国国会大厦举行的众议院监督与改革委员会听证会上作证。该委员会举行此次听证会，旨在调查针对明尼苏达州社会服务和医疗补助计划的联邦资金被滥用的指控。（盖蒂图片社）
明尼苏达州当前议会席位分配不均，明尼苏达民主-农民-劳工党（DFL）在参议院以34票对33票占据微弱多数，在众议院则出现罕见的67票对67票党派平局。
民主党州长蒂姆·瓦尔茨于2025年10月宣布开展此次审计，数月后，涉及明尼苏达州索马里侨民成员的大规模欺诈指控引发全国关注。针对瓦尔茨政府处理明尼苏达州社会服务项目涉嫌欺诈行为的审查声浪日益高涨，给瓦尔茨政府带来了越来越大的政治压力，最终瓦尔茨于今年1月结束了连任竞选。
瓦尔茨的“离任访谈”回顾任期引发议员就其遗产争论：“从未认真对待”
明尼苏达州共和党参议员乔丹·拉斯穆森也指责瓦尔茨政府及其民主党同僚试图“淡化”本州的欺诈问题。
“我认为明尼苏达州的民主党当选官员很难承认我们存在如此规模的欺诈问题，也很难为这些失职行为承担责任，”拉斯穆森告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。
美国国土安全部表示，报告之所以被大幅删减，是为了保护Optum公司的商业机密，并防止泄露敏感安全信息，以免这些信息为犯罪分子提供实施欺诈的“路线图”。
拉斯穆森于4月提出一项修正案，要求将Optum公司的完整报告公之于众，但该修正案因党派分歧未获通过。5月，拉斯穆森提案的一个版本作为更广泛预算法案的一部分获得通过。
明尼苏达州反冰救助基金成为州内令人尴尬的欺诈问题最新牺牲品
2025年12月18日，联邦特工进入明尼苏达州布卢明顿的一栋办公楼，对终极家庭保健服务公司执行搜查令，调查其涉嫌医疗补助欺诈。（克里斯托弗·朱恩/阿纳多卢通讯社/盖蒂图片社）
根据相关法律，国土安全部必须在该立法委员会主席和少数党资深议员联合提出请求后，向拥有“人类服务政策与财政管辖权”的立法委员会成员提供Optum公司的初始报告。议员可以审查该报告，但不得公开披露其中包含的受保护非公开信息。
拉斯穆森表示，他已于6月提出获取完整报告的请求。明尼苏达州人权服务财政与政策委员会民主党联合主席穆罕默德·努尔以及前共和党众议院联合主席乔·绍马克尔于5月提出了报告申请。直到上周，这份报告才可供一批特定议员查阅。
“我很高兴报告终于公开了，但我们没能回到圣保罗市处理此事，这非常令人失望，”共和党州众议员唐·吉尔曼告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，她指出议员们要等到明年1月才能讨论这份报告。
“更广泛的教训是，瓦尔茨政府本可以在数月前就向我们提供更多查阅权限，”拉斯穆森告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。“民主党议员本可以和共和党人一道，在数月前的立法会议期间获取这些信息。”
不过，现已获取报告的州参议员约翰·霍夫曼驳斥了议员们需要完整报告才能出台有意义改革的说法。
“这是一份关于公共项目漏洞的报告，”霍夫曼在给福克斯新闻数字频道的一份声明中表示。“我们为什么要在修复这些漏洞之前将其公之于众？我们也不会公开一份关于哪些银行没有锁门的报告。”
顶级共和党议员预测：爆炸性冷门议题或推动中期选举变局：“你会看到惊喜”
2026年3月4日，明尼苏达州州长蒂姆·瓦尔茨在华盛顿特区美国国会大厦举行的众议院监督与改革委员会听证会上作证。（安娜·莫尼梅克/盖蒂图片社）
“我们其他人都在努力推进立法，以确保提供高质量服务、为有需要的人群维持护理连续性，并建立防范欺诈的保障机制，”霍夫曼继续说道。“在审阅过报告后，我可以告诉你，这份报告已经过时了，报告提出的漏洞和弱点已经通过我们今年通过的法律得到了解决。”
但同样拿到报告的拉斯穆森并不认同霍夫曼的观点。
“在审阅过未删减版的Optum报告后，我的主要结论是，这份报告凸显了瓦尔茨政府和明尼苏达州民主党人在保护明尼苏达州免受欺诈方面存在系统性失灵，”拉斯穆森告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。
“无论是在确定项目受益者资格、确认服务提供者是否真正提供了服务，还是在本应能够发现欺诈的基本数据分析方面，明尼苏达州在项目诚信举措方面都远远落后于应有水平，”拉斯穆森补充道。
福克斯新闻数字频道联系了国土安全部，该部门证实特定议员现已可以查阅该报告。
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“我们感谢议员们对获取2026年2月Optum公司未删减版初始报告的兴趣，”明尼苏达州人类服务部临时专员约翰·康诺利在一份声明中表示。“按照上届立法会议通过的法律要求，明尼苏达州人类服务部已于上周发布了Optum公司的报告。”
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福克斯新闻数字频道联系了瓦尔茨的办公室寻求置评。
伊莱恩·马伦是福克斯新闻数字频道和福克斯商业频道的撰稿人，报道全国政治新闻。
GOP accuses Walz allies of burying $52M Medicaid fraud report before election
2026-10-08T09:54:26-04:00 / Fox News
DHS released the unredacted report to a select legislative committee after months of Republican pressure and failed votes
By Elaine Mallon, Fox News
Published October 8, 2026 9:54am EDT
What are they hiding?’ Minnesota speaker rips Walz admin over redacted Medicaid fraud report as election nears
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a GOP candidate for governor, says lawmakers have been denied the full Medicaid fraud report detailing $52M in improper payments, suggesting it is being withheld because of the midterm elections.
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Minnesota Republicans are accusing Democrats of keeping lawmakers in the dark for months about a state-commissioned Medicaid assessment that flagged more than $52 million in improper payments, arguing the delay denied them a chance to act on the report’s specific findings during the legislative session before the election.
“Fraud here has exploded under the Walz administration,” Minnesota Republican Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth told Fox News Digital. “Governor Walz has held no one in his entire administration accountable for the level of fraud. It definitely brings into question what is in that report and why are they hiding it?”
The Walz administration hired Optum to conduct a third-party review of Minnesota’s Medicaid program, scrutinizing 14 high-risk services. The report identified more than $52 million in improper payments but cautioned that improper payments do not necessarily constitute “fraud, waste or abuse.” The Department of Human Services released a heavily redacted version to the public in February, prompting calls from Republican lawmakers to make the full version available so they could address the risks raised during the legislative session.
“Our election here in Minnesota is 29 days away. We’re just four weeks out, and you really have to wonder why they are refusing to do this,” Demuth, who is the GOP gubernatorial candidate, told Fox News Digital.
WALZ ADMINISTRATION IGNORED FRAUD WARNINGS AS BILLIONS VANISHED, HOUSE OVERSIGHT REPORT ALLEGES
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026. The committee held the hearing to examine the alleged misuse of federal funds intended for Minnesota social services and Medicaid programs.(Getty Images)
Minnesota currently has a divided state legislature, with the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) holding a slim 34-33 majority in the Senate and a rare 67-67 partisan tie in the House.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz announced the audit in October 2025, months before allegations of widespread fraud involving members of Minnesota’s Somali diaspora drew national attention. Mounting scrutiny of the Walz administration’s handling of alleged fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs contributed to growing political pressure before Walz ended his re-election campaign in January.
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Republican state Sen. Jordan Rasmusson is also accusing the Walz administration and his Democratic counterparts of seeking to “minimize” the fraud issue in the state.
“I think it’s really hard for Democrats, elected Democrats in Minnesota, to admit that we have a fraud problem of this scale, and to take accountability for those failings,” Rasmusson told Fox News Digital.
The Department of Human Services said the report was heavily redacted to protect Optum’s trade secrets and prevent the release of sensitive security information that could provide criminals a “roadmap” for committing fraud.
Rasmusson introduced an amendment in April to make the full Optum report public, but it failed along party lines. A version of Rasmusson’s provision was later passed in May as part of a broader budget package.
MINNESOTA’S ANTI-ICE AID FUND BECOMES LATEST CASUALTY OF STATE’S EMBARRASSING FRAUD PROBLEM
Federal agents enter an office building as a search warrant is executed at Ultimate Home Health Services over potential Medicaid fraud, on December 18, 2025, in Bloomington, Minnesota.(Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Under the law, DHS must provide the initial Optum reports to members of a legislative committee with “jurisdiction over human services policy and finance” following a joint request from the committee’s chair and ranking minority member. Lawmakers may review the report but cannot publicly release protected nonpublic information it contains.
Rasmusson said he issued a request for the full report in June. State Rep. Mohamud Noor, DFL co-chair of the Human Services Finance and Policy Committee, and former GOP House co-Chair Joe Schomacker requested the report in May. The report did not become available to a select group of lawmakers until last week.
“I’m grateful that it’s out, but it’s very disappointing we couldn’t have returned to St. Paul to address it,” Republican state Rep. Dawn Gillman told Fox News Digital, noting that lawmakers will have to wait until January to address the report.
“The broader takeaway is that the Walz administration could have given us more access to those months ago,” Rasmusson told Fox News Digital. “Legislative Democrats could have joined Republicans and got access to this information months ago during session.”
However, state Sen. John Hoffman, who now has access to the report, pushed back on the notion that lawmakers needed full access to enact meaningful changes.
“This is a report about vulnerabilities in public programs,” Hoffman said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Why would we release that to the public before we fixed them? We wouldn’t publish a report about which banks don’t lock their doors, either.”
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“The rest of us got to work passing legislation to ensure high-quality services, continuity of care for people in need and safeguards to protect against fraud,” Hoffman continued. “Having reviewed the report, I can tell you it is already outdated, and the gaps and weaknesses it raises have already been addressed by laws we passed this year.”
But Rasmusson, who also has the report, disagreed with Hoffman.
“After reviewing the unredacted Optum report, my main takeaway is that it underscores the systemic failures of the Walz administration and Minnesota Democrats to protect Minnesota from fraud,” Rasmusson told Fox News Digital.
“Whether it is issues with determining the eligibility of program recipients, determining whether providers are actually providing real services or not, or even some of the basic analytics that would catch fraud, Minnesota is very far behind where it should be in program integrity initiatives,” Rasmusson continued.
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS, which confirmed that select lawmakers now had the report.
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“We appreciate legislators’ interest in receiving a copy of the unredacted initial Optum report from February 2026,” Minnesota Department of Human Services Temporary Commissioner John Connolly said in a statement. “In alignment with the law passed by the Legislature last session, the Minnesota Department of Human Services released the Optum reports last week.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for comment.
Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.