Minnesota Medicaid fraud concerns persist as assisted-living licenses surge
Policy analyst Bill Glahn warns that rapid growth in provisional assisted-living licenses may be outpacing oversight, citing recent fraud cases and a lack of accountability in state agencies.
Minnesota officials have faced criticism that efforts to curb Medicaid fraud have been insufficient, with a sharp increase in provisional assisted-living licenses raising oversight concerns. Policy fellow Bill Glahn of the Center of the American Experiment said the state issued 364 new provisional licenses in the past year, representing about 20% of the 2,500 licensed facilities, and called for a 90-day moratorium while investigations continue.
"We have not slowed down, there is no sense in which the fraud has been stopped in Minnesota," Glahn told Fox News Digital.
Glahn highlighted a recent criminal complaint filed by Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office against Salman Ahmed Elmi, who faces eight felony theft charges linked to alleged Medicaid billing fraud. The complaint also alleges connections between Medicaid-funded businesses, properties previously used for commercial sex, and a suspected sex-trafficking operation.
"This is two scandals in one. You have a commercial sex operation, actual brothels, housed in what were later licensed as assisted-living facilities under the Medicaid program," Glahn said.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services said it has implemented anti-fraud reforms since late 2024, including identifying high-risk services, freezing enrollment of new providers in those programs, discontinuing the Housing Stabilization Services program, and expanding pre-payment reviews. The agency reported stopping payments to 747 Medicaid providers and making 824 law-enforcement referrals since the start of 2025.
Glahn also criticized the state’s leadership, asserting that Governor Tim Walz and other officials have not taken substantive action to address the fraud and that existing reforms do not tackle what he views as a systemic lack of accountability.
"Walz has never cleaned house, he’s never fired anybody for not detecting the fraud or not prosecuting the fraud," Glahn said.
Attempts to obtain comments from the governor’s office, Senator Amy Klobuchar’s campaign, and the Minnesota Department of Health were unsuccessful.