Attorney General Ellison's fraud-fighting bill headed to Senate floor after passing Senate Finance Committee
May 1, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Keith Ellison’s bipartisan bill to combat Medicaid fraud, authored by Senator Ann Johnson Steward and Representative Matt Norris, is headed to the Senate floor for consideration after it was amended into the Supplemental Finance bill and passed by the Minnesota Senate Finance Committee today. 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.
The bipartisan bill has already passed numerous committees in the Senate and House. Its final committee stop in the House will be in the Ways and Means Committee.
“I’m proud of the strong track record of my office in holding Medicaid fraudsters accountable — and Minnesotans want more of it, which is why I’ve fought so hard to pass this bill,” Attorney General Ellison said. “I’m very pleased that after much committee review, the MAP Act is now on its way to the Senate floor. I thank Senator Ann Johnson Stewart for her steadfast steering of this bill to this point and hope to have the vote of every senator for this common-sense measure.”
- Adding 18 new staff members to the Attorney General’s Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to handle the near tripling of fraud referrals the MFCU has received since last fall. The bill will increase the MFCU’s staff from 32 to 50 people, bringing Minnesota more in line with similar-sized states. The increase is based on a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
- 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.
Attorney General Ellison’s MFCU has secured over 340 convictions and won over $90 million in restitution and recoveries since he was first elected. 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 |
| Indiana | $20,020,602,077 | 59 |
| Minnesota | $19,328,609,948 | 32 |
