House GOP bill moves to close whistleblower gaps exposed by Minnesota Medicaid fraud scandal

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz's and Ellison's offices for comment.