MINNEAPOLIS — The Trump administration has halted roughly $260 million in third-quarter 2025 Medicaid payments to Minnesota, the state announced Thursday, escalating a high-stakes battle over fraud allegations in programs serving autistic children, elderly residents, and people needing personal care assistance. Federal officials cited a pattern of suspected abuses, including fake diagnoses, illegal kickbacks to providers, and the operation of sham treatment centers that allegedly billed Medicaid for services never delivered or deemed medically unnecessary. The freeze, which affects reimbursements for autism therapy, in-home personal care, and senior services, marks one of the largest federal interventions in state Medicaid funding