Michigan's Medicaid Program Will Be Audited

@10x25mm better or worse than Mississippi, do you think?

Audio available at the link.

https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/04/27/10-5-million-in-medicaid-given-to-illegals-in-mississippi/

$10.5 Million in Medicaid Given to Illegal Aliens in Mississippi, State Auditor Says

Pedro Rodriguez    |    April 27, 2026

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A new report from Mississippi State Auditor Shad White has uncovered that illegal aliens in the state received at least $10.5 million in Medicaid benefits between 2023 and 2025.

“If this money had gone to benefit lawful citizens, it could have reduced our taxes, paid our teachers, paid our police officers—frankly, anything would be better than serving as a magnet for illegal immigrants to come to the United States,” White told The Daily Signal.

“Mississippi taxpayers deserve to know the cost of illegal immigrants in our state, even if it makes some folks uncomfortable,” White added. “My team will always tell you how your money in being spent, warts and all.”

The new report comes after White’s office released a report in 2024opens in a new tab titled “How Illegal Immigration Hurts Mississippi Taxpayers,” which highlighted that state divisions were spending a staggering $4 million in taxpayer money on emergency services for illegal aliens.

However, that analysis excluded the cost of Medicaid to illegal immigrants because Mississippi’s Medicaid program failed to report expenditures for care for illegal immigrants despite being required by federal law.

Federal law requires hospitals to provide emergency medical services regardless of immigration status. It also requires states to report how much taxpayer money is spent providing those services to illegal immigrants.

This lack of disclosure prompted White to conduct a follow-up investigation into the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, which determined that the department was spending massive amounts of federal taxpayer dollars without reporting it.

“The only answer here is to have a federal government continue to do exactly what the Trump administration is doing, which is close our borders and enforce our immigration laws,” White continued. “In addition, I pushed hard for a new law to make illegal immigration a state crime, and that bill passed this year, which will also help.”

@mhf - It is not possible to say, today.  The Michigan Democratic Trifecta and their myrmidons in the Michigan bureaucracy have gone to unprecedented lengths to protect the privacy of illegal aliens violating laws intended to protect the prerogatives of citizens.  That will not continue indefinitely, but it will be a politically chaotic exercise extracting the truth from Michigan's bureaucracy.

Our Trifecta is between a rock and a hard place: risk federal penalties for prosecuting too little fraud, or prosecute more and admit they were lying about running a clean program.

https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/vance-threatens-medicaid-funding-cuts-as-michigan-touts-its-anti-fraud-record

Vance threatens Medicaid funding cuts as Michigan touts its anti-fraud record

75% of anti-fraud spending in Michigan comes from feds

Michigan Capitol Confidential Staff    |    May 22, 2026

As federal officials threaten to withhold Medicaid funds from states that don’t do enough to combat fraud, Michigan officials are defending their record in policing Medicaid, a program jointly funded by the state and national governments.

Vice President JD Vance announced May 13 that the Trump administration would crack down on states that fail to pursue Medicaid fraud aggressively. States that don’t address fraud could suffer the loss of federal funds, he warned, including money that supports Medicaid Fraud Control Units.

Federal officials currently recognize the Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Division as the fraud control unit for Michigan. It receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a federal grant totaling $5,517,524 for fiscal year 2026. The remaining 25% of the Fraud Division’s budget, or $1,839,170, comes from state taxpayers.

The same day Vance made his remarks, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced a new Medicaid fraud prosecution.

Julie Evers, a 53-year-old Florida woman, was arraigned on charges related to alleged transportation fraud involving the Medicaid program, said Nessel. Evers was charged with multiple counts of Medicaid fraud. The first charge, conspiracy, is a felony that carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison. Evers also faces 10 counts of making false claims, each punishable by up to four years in prison.

Evers used an app while staying in Farwell, Michigan during summer 2023 to make a fraudulent claim for mileage reimbursements for trips she never took, the attorney general’s office alleges.

“Improper billing diverts public resources from those in need and siphons off taxpayer funds,” Nessel said in a press release. “My office remains committed to working with the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate and prosecute allegations of fraud in this critical program.”

Michigan’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit reported a total of 489 fraud and abuse or neglect investigations in 2025, resulting in 16 indictments and 19 convictions.

Nearby states reported varying levels of anti-fraud activity. Ohio recorded 1,058 investigations, along with 149 indictments and 108 convictions. Minnesota, which has drawn national attention for claims of negligence, reported 202 investigations, 50 indictments and 38 convictions. Wisconsin reported 126 investigations, 16 indictments and six convictions. Indiana, which Vance praised during his remarks for its anti-fraud efforts, reported 951 investigations, 42 indictments and 37 convictions. The number of Medicaid recipients varies across the states, based on their population and decisions their officials make about eligibility.

Michigan’s 2024 figures were nearly identical to 2025. The state also reported 489 investigations that year, resulting in 15 indictments and 13 convictions.

The Michigan Attorney General's office stated in an email that the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent the same letter to every fraud-control unit in the country, without regard to its performance.

A spokesperson for Nessel, writing to CapCon in an email, defended the state’s anti-fraud efforts. Any claim that Michigan’s medical fraud have put the state’s Medicaid funds in jeopardy “is inconceivable and completely disconnected from the performance record,” said Danny Wimmer, press secretary for the attorney general. “While some states have been, over the last year, singled out by the federal government for purported performance issues, Michigan has never been among them.”

Still, we're getting more answers about Michigan's level of fraud with CapCon also breaking details of this case.

From the May 15 Editorial Dispatch.

A brother and sister from Clare County are facing serious felony charges after allegedly gaming Michigan's Medicaid transportation reimbursement program — and their case is shining a light on a program that paid out about $1.1 million every month to about 200,000 people in fiscal year 2025.

Michigan Capitol Confidential obtained the spending through a records request.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced April 29 that Steven John Caplan, 31, and Kayla Marie Earls, 35, were arraigned in East Lansing's 54B District Court.

The alleged scheme worked like this: Michigan's Medicaid program reimburses enrolled beneficiaries for mileage driven to eligible medical appointments, tracked via a smartphone GPS app and loaded onto a debit card. Investigators allege the pair used a separate app to spoof their phone's location — essentially faking trips that never happened — and pocketed the reimbursements.

The case was referred to the AG's office by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General. Caplan was held on $100,000 bond; Earls on $10,000. Caplan faces the following charges: conducting a continuing criminal enterprise (20 years), Medicaid fraud conspiracy (10 years), and ten counts of filing false claims (40 years). Earls faces one count each of conspiracy and one count of filing a false claim.

"Medicaid dollars provide essential care for Michiganders," Nessel said, "and my office will not tolerate those who defraud the system."

The charges raise an uncomfortable question: with nearly 200,000 people enrolled in this program, how many others are doing the same thing?

Driven to fraud,

Scott McClallen

CapCon Reporter and Editor

The AG's press release:

https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2026/04/29/clare-county-siblings-charged-with-conspiracy-and-medicaid-fraud

Clare County Siblings Charged with Conspiracy and Medicaid Fraud
April 29, 2026

LANSING – Today, Steven John Caplan, 31, and Kayla Marie Earls, 35, both of Harrison, were arraigned before Judge Lisa Babcock of the 54B District Court in East Lansing for allegedly committing transportation fraud in the Medicaid program, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Caplan has been charged with:

One count of Conducting a Continuing Criminal Enterprise, a 20-year felony;
One count of Medicaid Fraud – Conspiracy, a 10-year felony; and
Ten counts of Medicaid Fraud – False Claim, each a 4-year felony.

Earls has been charged with one count of Medicaid Fraud – Conspiracy and one count of Medicaid Fraud – False Claim.

The Michigan Medicaid program will provide mileage reimbursement to enrolled beneficiaries when they travel to eligible medical appointments. In some cases, a smartphone app is made available to track mileage to these appointments using the built-in GPS of the phone. When a trip is complete, the reimbursement payment is added to a payment card mailed to the beneficiary when they register for this program. The card can then be used like any debit card.

It is alleged that the defendants participated in a scheme where another app was used to effectively trick a phone into thinking it was someplace it was not and submitted reimbursement requests for trips that never took place. This matter was referred to the Department of Attorney General by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (DHHS-OIG).

“Medicaid dollars provide essential care for Michiganders, and my office will not tolerate those who defraud the system,” said Attorney General Nessel. “I want to again thank DHHS-OIG and the Clare County Sheriff’s Office for their partnership in investigating this matter. We will continue to hold accountable individuals who steal from taxpayers and divert funds away from the residents who need them most.”

Caplan was given a $100,000 cash/surety bond and Earls was given a $10,000 cash/surety bond. Both are next due to appear in the 54B District Court on May 8 for a probable cause conference.

The Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Division (HCFD) is handling this case for the Department. The HCFD is the federally certified Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for Michigan, and it receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $5,517,524.00 for the fiscal year 2026. The remaining 25% percent, totaling $1,839,170.00, is funded by the State of Michigan.

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Please note: For all criminal proceedings, a criminal charge is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The Department does not provide booking photos.

The one missing fact here is an important one.

With 2025 IRS business mileage reimbursement of $0.70 per mile, how much did this duo actually defraud taxpayers of, in real dollars?