Alison Kuznitz
State House News Service

Attorney General Andrea Campbell says she's prepared to lodge yet another lawsuit against the federal government should the Trump administration's crackdown on Medicaid fraud in Minnesota shift focus to Massachusetts, where public benefits fraud is getting fresh attention.

President Donald Trump hinted at a looming clash last week, when he put a spotlight on fraud in Massachusetts and other Democrat-led states during his State of the Union address.

Federal health officials last week paused $259.5 million in quarterly Medicaid matching funds in Minnesota to "prevent payment of questionable claims while further investigation is completed." The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it may withhold up to $1 billion over the next year should Minnesota "fail to clean up its significant program integrity vulnerabilities or demonstrate that the expenditures are allowable."

During a television interview that aired Sunday, Campbell was asked whether a similar Medicaid funding freeze could unfold here. MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program, accounts for nearly one-third of the budget.

"Well, if they come for our resources, we will file suit like we have been," Campbell said on WCVB's "On the Record" program.

The AG said her office has filed nearly 50 lawsuits against the Trump administration in hopes of protecting more than $3 billion.

Senate Republicans in Massachusetts recently called for an oversight hearing into public benefit fraud in the SNAP program. In their request to Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight Chairman Mark Montigny, the Senate GOP Caucus pointed to $34 million in public benefit fraud identified by Auditor Diana DiZoglio's office over a three-year period as well as two cases brought by U.S. Attorney Leah Foley.

In fiscal 2025 alone, the Bureau of Special Investigations within DiZoligo's office identified roughly $12 million in public benefit fraud. Nearly half of that figure was attributed to MassHealth.

DiZoglio's Medicaid Audit Unit last week released a report identifying nearly $8.5 million in potential cost savings at MassHealth, based on probes into dental services, transportation services, durable medical equipment (DME) providers and inpatient maternity services. 

MassHealth paid about $521,500 for "DME that could not be verified as having been ordered by an eligible provider" and about $31,700 for DME ordered by providers who are excluded from MassHealth. The report said MassHealth also paid providers $27,400 for equipment ordered for deceased members.

MassHealth said it plans to investigate the report's claims and recoup overpayments, and the agency said it offers training for providers to comply with state and federal laws, according to the report.

"MassHealth emphasized that due to the delay in how it receives information about deceased members, it relies on the postpay process to recoup payments for its members who had passed away," the report continued.

Trump discussed fraud allegations in Minnesota during his State of the Union address when he declared a "war on fraud," and he also name-dropped Massachusetts.

"California, Massachusetts, Maine and many other states are even worse," Trump said. "This is the kind of corruption that shreds the fabric of a nation, and we are working on it like you wouldn't believe."

Campbell said Trump called out those states as part of a "blueprint" to "weaponize" the federal government across Democratic strongholds.

Gov. Maura Healey proposed a $3.5 million increase for the AG's office in fiscal 2027. Campbell is seeking an additional $2.7 million to keep up with the federal legal battles and to tackle accountability voids she sees in Washington.

"They're not doing some of the public health work we're doing, or the health care work, or the Medicaid fraud we're doing," Campbell said. "So we have to fill the gap. That means I have to expand my team in order to ensure that folks here in Massachusetts are not defrauded."