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Minnesota medical transportation program faces new scrutiny
The Minnesota Star Tribune ^ | January 14, 2026 | Jessie Van Berkel, Eva Herscowitz and Eleanor Hildebrandt

Posted on 01/14/2026 7:25:19 PM PST by MinorityRepublican

A transportation service that pays for people’s rides to medical appointments is among the Medicaid-funded programs facing new scrutiny for its vulnerability to fraud, with some in the industry saying they have been raising red flags for years.

The program, known as nonemergency medical transportation, provides tens of thousands of rides per year across the state and has, over the years, prompted scrutiny from legislative auditors and was a focus of a massive Medicaid fraud investigation.

Now it’s the topic of a new video released Jan. 14 from conservative influencer Nick Shirley, whose previous video alleging widespread fraud at Somali-owned Minnesota child care centers went viral. That video prompted the Trump administration to freeze child care funds to the state and launch a Department of Homeland Security investigation into the centers.

People working in nonemergency medical transportation “have been ringing the fraud bell for quite some time,” said Scott Isaacson, president of the Minnesota R-80 Transportation Coalition, which represents many providers. He shared a list with the Minnesota Star Tribune of the 10 most prevalent forms of fraud in the program that he and others in the field are aware of.

Under federal law, states must provide Medicaid recipients transportation to appointments if needed. The transportation providers contract with the government and managed care organizations to do that work, taking people around the state to everything from dentist visits to dialysis appointments to addiction treatment.

The program, along with many other Medicaid-funded services, has seen expenditures climb in recent years. Minnesota Department of Human Services’ data shows nonemergency medical transportation providers billed around $80 million in 2018. By 2024, that climbed to more than $115 million before dipping last year to roughly $88 million.

(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...


TOPICS: Conspiracy; Government
KEYWORDS: fraud; minnesota
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1 posted on 01/14/2026 7:25:19 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

Almost all of them run by Somalis.
As usual.
Where there’s fraud in Minnesota, you almost always find Somalis.


2 posted on 01/14/2026 7:28:23 PM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: SmokingJoe

RRRRRR! That’s right, matey!


3 posted on 01/14/2026 7:31:53 PM PST by BigB60 (C. S. Lewis loves hobbits)
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To: MinorityRepublican

Kick every last one of these sub 80 IQ savages out.

Every last one.

L


4 posted on 01/14/2026 7:34:16 PM PST by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.s)
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To: MinorityRepublican

How many Somalis work at Minneapolis branches of the Bank of America? Of Wells Fargo, or U.S. Bank, or Chase, or PNC Bank?

How many Somalis work at MSP Airport?


5 posted on 01/14/2026 7:34:45 PM PST by Steely Tom ([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
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To: Lurker

Funded by the commies who brought them here for votes..they not only look the other way, but they rank in the dough for themselves and their campaigns. The day that Tim Walz was announced as Harris’s running mate, they raised the most money a campaign has gotten after a VP has been announced in a very long time, that is why she chose him, he knows where to smuggle in the dough from Somali’s who give it to them as long as they keep their traps shut


6 posted on 01/14/2026 7:40:45 PM PST by Sarah Barracuda
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To: MinorityRepublican
I've been posting about this since December30.


And the video that showed Somali non-emergency transporation cars that are being driven around with no passengers in them were being driven daily empty to build up mileage on the odometers for fraudulent reimbursement claims. They needed the mileage to be verifiable from the odometer readings so they can claim the mileage benefits from driving people to doctor appointments and rehab facilities.


The big money is not in the transportation fee, it's in the mileage reimbursement.

-PJ

7 posted on 01/14/2026 7:41:37 PM PST by Political Junkie Too ( * LAAP = Left-wing Activist Agitprop Press (formerly known as the MSM))
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To: MinorityRepublican

Doesn’t Minneapolis have bus service? Or Uber or Lyft ride shares?

Why is medical transport provided for a very small section of society? Other people who don’t own a car need to use public transportation or beg a ride from family, friends, or co-workers.


8 posted on 01/14/2026 7:46:04 PM PST by jeannineinsd
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