Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday formally requested communications and internal documents from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Shireen Gandhi, the temporary commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, as part of a growing federal oversight effort into alleged widespread Medicaid fraud in the state.

In a press release issued Tuesday, Committee Chairman Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., and Health Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., said the records request is aimed at determining "the ongoing Medicaid fraud occurring in the state of Minnesota" and what steps state officials are taking to "strengthen program integrity." 

The lawmakers said the alleged fraud has targeted some of the most vulnerable Americans and misused finite taxpayer dollars.

"The extensive fraud schemes being perpetrated in Minnesota have wreaked havoc on government-funded health programs. We have an obligation to ensure finite taxpayer dollars are being used responsibly, and that the most vulnerable Americans are not being exploited to the benefit of fraudsters and foreign actors," Guthrie, Joyce, and Griffith said in a joint statement. 

"As members of Congress and this Committee, our track record has made our continued commitment to ridding government programs of waste, fraud, mismanagement, and abuse clear," they added. "This letter is the next step in the Committee's work to root out fraud and restore program integrity in our federal health programs nationwide."

The request focuses on a series of alleged criminal schemes tied to Minnesota's Medicaid social service and health programs that federal authorities now describe as extensive and potentially long-running. 

The fraud allegedly includes overbilling, false records, identity theft, and phantom claims in programs serving the elderly, people with disabilities, people struggling with addiction, and people experiencing homelessness.

The Energy and Commerce chairmen said the letter, part of broader congressional oversight, follows briefings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on what is known about the alleged fraud and federal actions taken to date.

Walz last month applauded recent fraud charges and emphasized that his administration is pursuing measures to stop abusive billing and bolster program integrity.

The congressional letter does not specify a new investigation but demands records to better understand state knowledge and action on the fraud uncovered so far. It underscores lawmakers' assertion that Minnesota's Medicaid programs have lacked "adequate oversight and fraud control measures," allowing vulnerabilities to persist for years.

The Energy and Commerce Committee leaders said they remain committed to "ridding government programs of waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse" and restoring program integrity in federal health programs nationwide. They noted this oversight complements federal enforcement actions and new provisions in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act aimed at preventing Medicaid fraud.

The records request marks a new phase of congressional scrutiny in a case that has become a flashpoint in national debates over government accountability, state-federal relations and the protection of taxpayer dollars. The committee did not immediately set a deadline for compliance.

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