Attorney General Ellison's fraud fighting legislation passes House Judiciary Committee
March 10, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — This morning, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Representative Matt Norris, and Senator Ann Johnson Stewart’s legislation to combat Medicaid fraud passed the Minnesota House Judiciary Committee. The legislation, known as the Medical Assistance Protection Act or MAP Act, will expand Attorney General Ellison’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), give them new investigative authority, and strengthen state Medicaid fraud laws to make it easier to prosecute those who steal from Medicaid.
Following the bill’s passage, it was referred to the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee. On February 26, the MAP Act was heard in and passed out of the House Human Services Finance and Policy Committee.
The MAP Act will improve Attorney General Ellison’s ability to investigate and prosecute fraudsters by:
- Adding 18 new staff members to the Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit based on a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and to account for an almost tripling of the numbers of fraud referrals the MFCU has received. The bill will increase the MFCU’s staff from 32 to 50 people, bringing Minnesota more in line with similar-sized states.
- With those funds, the MFCU would add 11 investigators, 3 attorneys, and 4 support staff to the unit.
- For every dollar that Minnesota puts into its MFCU, the federal governments chips in three more. That 3 to 1 match makes Attorney General Ellison’s MFCU one of the best investments Minnesota can make in holding Medicaid fraudsters accountable.
- Strengthening state Medical Assistance fraud laws by:
- expanding fraud statutes to cover the breadth of fraud schemes investigators uncover;
- creates enhanced sentencing for high-dollar fraud cases in line with sentencing for theft against private individuals;
- adding Medical Assistance fraud to Minnesota's racketeering statute, making it easier to take down larger conspiracies;
- expanding the statute of limitations; and
- increasing the state’s ability to recover tax dollars lost to fraud.
- Giving the Attorney General’s Office direct authority to subpoena financial records during criminal Medical Assistance fraud investigations, for efficiency, as now the AGO can only access through a county attorney
"Fighting fraud to ensure funds reaches those in need, is a top priority of mine. My office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit regularly ranks as one of the best in the entire country, and it makes all the sense in the world to give them stronger tools and more resources to continue the fight against fraud,” said Attorney General Ellison. “I’m pleased my bill has earned bipartisan support and I will continue working with lawmakers from all parties to get this bill across the finish line and further our fight against fraud.”
Last year, Attorney General Ellison's MFCU ranked sixth in investigations per Medicaid expenditure, fifth in fraud charges, and eight in fraud convictions in the entire country. Further, Attorney General Ellison’s MFCU ranks fifth in fraud convictions in the entire country over the last six years on average.
Minnesota’s MFCU has achieved this long-running track record of success despite having a smaller staff than other, comparable states. Nationwide, MFCU staffing recommendations are based on the size of a state’s Medicaid budget. The present size of Minnesota’s MFCU, 32, was set when the state’s Medicaid budget was roughly $13 billion. Now that the Medicaid budget is roughly $20 billion, HHS OIG recommends Minnesota’s MFCU increase its staffing levels.
States with similar Medicaid budgets to Minnesota’s often have larger MFCUs, as illustrated below using data from HHS OIG‘s 2024 annual report:
| State | Medicaid Budge | MFCU Staff |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | $22,354,412,784 | 92 |
| Washington | $21,318,488,278 | 57 |
| Arizona | $20,388,207,470 | 33 |
| Indiana | $20,020,602,077 | 59 |
| Minnesota | $19,328,609,948 | 32 |
Two different provisions of the MAP Act fall under the domain of the House Judiciary Committee: expanding the Attorney General’s Office’s subpoena authority and expanding the office to seek restitution for funds lost to fraud.
Expanding the AGO’s subpoena authority
The MAP Act improves the Attorney General’s Office’s ability to investigate Medicaid fraud by expanding the office’s subpoena powers. Specifically, when AGO is conducting a provider fraud investigation, the act grants the AGO the same authority to subpoena financial records as county attorneys do when they conduct welfare fraud investigations. At present, even when the AGO is conducting a criminal investigation, it lacks the same authority to acquire certain records as county attorneys have. The MAP Act would fill this gap.
Improving Minnesota’s ability to recover tax dollars lost to Medical Assistance fraud
Currently, for the state to be awarded restitution from those found guilty of Medicaid fraud, prosecutors must charge defendants with every dollar of that fraud they want reimbursed. This requires prosecutors to comb through up to six years of financial documents before even filing charges to account for every dollar of the fraud they want to seek restitution for. This can dramatically slow down and even jeopardize investigations, particularly if the targets are a flight risk. The MAP Act changes this by permitting prosecutors to seek additional restitution for fraud they can prove at the time of sentencing. This will allow prosecutors to file charges more quickly while recovering more of Minnesotans’ hard-earned tax dollars.
