GOP accuses Walz allies of burying $52M Medicaid fraud report before election | 8 oct 2026 | Minnesota Republicans are accusing Democrats of keeping lawmakers in the dark for months about a state-commissioned Medicaid assessment that flagged more than $52 million in improper payments, arguing the delay denied them a chance to act on the report’s specific findings during the legislative session before the election. “Fraud here has exploded under the Walz administration,” Minnesota Republican Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth told Fox News Digital. “Governor Walz has held no one in his entire administration accountable for the level of fraud. It definitely brings into question what is in that report and why are they hiding it?” The Walz administration hired Optum to conduct a third-party review of Minnesota’s Medicaid program, scrutinizing 14 high-risk services.