Attorney General Ellison, Senator Johnson Stewart, and Representative Norris’ fraud-fighting bill passes Minnesota Senate
May 5, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Today, Attorney General Ellison, Senator Johnson Stewart, and Representative Norris’ Medicaid fraud-fighting legislation, the Medical Assistance Protection Act or MAP Act, was passed by the Minnesota Senate as part of their Supplemental Finance Omnibus bill. The bipartisan legislation will expand Attorney General Ellison’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), give the unit new investigative authority, and strengthen state Medicaid fraud laws to make it easier to prosecute those who steal from Medicaid, also known as Medical Assistance in Minnesota.
The MAP Act was passed by the Ways and Means Committee of the Minnesota House of Representatives earlier today. Its next stop is the floor of the House of Representatives for final consideration.
“The passage of the MAP Act in the Senate today puts us one massive step closer to getting my investigators and prosecutors the tools and resources they need to even more aggressively prosecute fraudsters,” Attorney General Ellison said. “When people steal from Medicaid, they are stealing money meant to provide healthcare to low-income Minnesotans and the MAP Act will help us hold these fraudsters accountable for their reprehensible actions. I’m grateful to Senator Ann Johnson Stewart for authoring the bill and for all she has done to help our fraud-fighting legislation pass in the Minnesota Senate. I’m also grateful to all the lawmakers who voted for our bill on the Senate floor today, as well as in various committees this session, and I look forward to this important bill passing in the Minnesota House in the near future.”
“I am honored to have carried this bill throughout this biennium and worked closely with my colleagues and the Attorney General to better safeguard taxpayer dollars and hold bad actors accountable,” said Senator Johnson Stewart. “The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit already punches above its weight in securing convictions and recovering dollars for Minnesotans, and this bill will make that work even more effective for our state. I look forward to the House taking it up soon and this important Act becoming law.”
The MAP Act will improve Attorney General Ellison’s ability to investigate and prosecute Medicaid fraudsters by:
- 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 |
