January 1, Minnesota Medicaid Scandal Raises Obamacare Fears

Wyatt’s Take

• Rampant Medicaid fraud in Minnesota is hitting American taxpayers hard.
• Biden-era Obamacare policies have made it easier for brokers to cash in on phony enrollments.
• Calls are growing to let families handle their own health savings and reduce government waste.

Massive fraud in Minnesota’s Medicaid program is draining federal money and raising alarms for heartland families. Brian Blase, former White House staffer, warns that bad policies in Washington have created a mess hurting honest folks across the country.

“It is disgusting,” he said when asked about Minnesota’s scandals. “But it is pervasive throughout government programs.”

States like Minnesota get most of their federal money through Medicaid. Blase says weak oversight means special interests and insiders are the real winners, not needy families. The government pays regardless of how wasteful or dishonest things get.

Half of Minnesota’s $18 billion Medicaid spending is flagged as possibly fraudulent. That’s on top of $1 trillion in improper payments nationwide over the last decade. Most waste doesn’t even show up in the official numbers, Blase says.

Medicaid cash is now being used for things far beyond medical care, like rent and food. “Those are ripe with waste, fraud or abuse opportunities,” Blase warned.

The problem isn’t just Minnesota. Blase says his think tank found big-time enrollment fraud in Obamacare across the country, especially after Biden’s changes made more plans free to enrollees. This setup gives middlemen every reason to sign folks up—sometimes without their knowledge, or even creating fake accounts for easy cash from Uncle Sam.

There are stories of people finding out they were signed up for a plan with zero notice just because someone else did it for them. “It just happened,” one person was told. “They automatically shopped for a plan and enrolled me into it, too.”

Up to $35 billion of taxpayer money this year is going to people who never used their health plan—some of whom don’t even know they have one. “Some (enrollees) are fictitious, others individuals that aren’t aware that they’re enrolled,” Blase explained.

Phantom enrollments are on the rise. Some brokers seek out names in homeless camps or use social media tricks to beef up their numbers and profits. The end result is federal dollars poured down a black hole, while working Americans pick up the tab.

Blase says fixing this starts with making everyone pay at least a little for their coverage—ending 100% taxpayer-funded plans. He also supports getting the money directly into patients’ hands through health savings accounts, letting families control their care instead of greedy bureaucrats and big corporations.

He pointed to President Trump’s push for more personal control and less corrupt government middlemen. As Blase put it, “Families should be able to finance their healthcare, spend their own money on their healthcare and their health coverage the way that they want.”

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Wyatt Matters

Folks in Middle America work hard for every dollar. Waste and fraud in government programs take money out of honest families’ pockets while helping special interests. Real accountability and personal control over health dollars are the bedrock of fairness in our nation’s heartland.