Trump cuts funding to Hawaii’s Medicaid fraud unit
Officials said Hawaii’s unit failed to secure any criminal cases from 2022 to 2025 despite rising enrollment and funding.
- On Thursday, federal officials decertified Hawaii's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, citing concerns over a lack of program accountability and enforcement.
- The unit, which has received $3 million annually, has been the nation's lowest performing program since 2014, producing zero criminal indictments between 2022 and 2025.
- Between 2021 and 2025, Hawaii Medicaid enrollments increased by 40% while funding rose 27%, yet Andrew Ferguson, co-chair of the White House Fraud Task Force, warned the unit's failure could "jeopardize the state's access to Medicaid money generally."
- Inspector General March Bell, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, notified Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez of the decertification, part of a broader Trump administration push requiring cooperation from all 50 states.
- In contrast, Ferguson praised Ohio Attorney General David Yost's cooperation, citing recent charges against 14 individuals involving $50 million in schemes and more than $1.2 billion in potential Medicaid fraud uncovered.
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Trump Admin Cuts Funding to Hawaii Medicaid Fraud Control Unit
Federal authorities have decertified Hawaii’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit due to a decade-long “abject failure” to enforce state and federal laws to prohibit fraud in the state, Andrew Ferguson, co-chair of the White House Fraud Task Force, announced on June 4. March Bell, inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, ended the Unit’s operational grants, according to a letter from Bell to Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez ob…
Trump Cuts off Funds to Hawaii Medicaid Fraud Unit Over Lack of Cases
Hawaii’s attorney general stands to lose around $3 million in federal funding to fight Medicaid fraud after failing to consistently bring criminal cases, the Trump administration said on Thursday, in an escalation of Vice President JD Vance’s campaign against healthcare fraud. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General March Bell sent a letter to Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez informing her that her state’s Medicaid …
Trump cuts funds to Hawaii fraud unit, threatening state’s Medicaid funding | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Hawaii stands to lose around $3 million in federal funding to fight Medicaid fraud after failing to consistently bring criminal cases, the Trump administration said today, in an escalation of Vice President JD Vance’s campaign against healthcare fraud.
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