Earlier this year, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) began reviewing every Medicaid provider enrolled in 13 “high-risk” welfare programs. Since that process began, 42.5% of the providers reviewed have been disenrolled.
For years, Minnesota has dealt with a widespread fraud problem that has seen criminals pillage government programs. In 2025, DHS designated 14 state-run, Medicaid-funded welfare programs as being at “high-risk” for fraud. DHS oversees those 14 programs.
That same year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office estimated that $9 billion could have been stolen from those programs since 2018. The overwhelming majority of individuals arrested and convicted in the state’s ongoing fraud saga have been from the Somali community.
In recent months, DHS ended one of the 14 programs after finding that it had been overrun by fraud. Additionally, the agency implemented a prepayment review process that screens claims submitted by Medicaid providers enrolled in those programs.
Medicaid providers are businesses and other organizations that receive Medicaid funds in exchange for providing eligible services.
However, federal authorities have threatened to withhold Medicaid funds from Minnesota if the state fails to address fraud. As such, Minnesota agreed to review every provider in the remaining 13 programs to ensure they comply with state and federal regulations.
That review process, which is currently underway, is called “Revalidate 2026” and requires DHS to examine over 5,000 providers in just a few months. DHS previously asked other state agencies to collectively find 168 state employees who can assist with this effort.
According to DHS, the agency will examine provider documents, review billing, and conduct provider site visits as part of the process. In a February press release, DHS said it would be “reexamining and revalidating over 5,800 Medicaid providers before this summer.”
Now, summer is around the corner and DHS still has a long way to go before it completes its revalidation process.
According to DHS figures, 546 providers have completed the revalidation process and been approved as of April 16. However, 405 providers have been disenrolled since Revalidate 2026 began earlier this year.
That means 42.5% of all providers that have completed the revalidation process have been disenrolled as of April 16. Meanwhile, over 4,600 providers are still in the middle of the revalidation process — DHS describes their status as “pending.”
Alpha News contacted DHS with questions about the revalidation process and the providers that were disenrolled. Specifically, the agency was asked if it saw evidence of fraud from the 405 disenrolled providers.
In a statement sent after this story was initially published, DHS said “Providers who have been disenrolled to this point have not responded to outreach to start the revalidation process or have indicated they are not pursuing revalidation. In addition, some providers were disenrolled because they didn’t meet the requirements to remain enrolled.”
This story has been updated with a statement from DHS.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
