Michigan State Sen. Aric Young Nesbitt called for a federal review of Michigan’s Medicaid program following documented spending increases and oversight gaps in the system.
The request was made after Nesbitt submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice on April 29 and discussed it in a press conference in Lansing the following day, as reported by Restoration News.
Michigan’s Medicaid program serves approximately 2.6 million residents, including nearly one million children. A March 2026 performance audit by Michigan’s Auditor General found that the Department of Health and Human Services had not sufficiently monitored an $82 million contract with a private pharmacy benefits manager for more than seven years. The audit determined that since May 2019, the agency’s monitoring plan relied primarily on self-reported compliance from the contractor rather than independent verification.
“We want to make sure this money is available so people who truly deserve these resources can get the support they need. That is exactly why we must also make sure fraudsters who make a career of gaming these systems are held accountable,” Nesbitt said. “We are not going to stop asking the questions that need to be asked to protect taxpayer dollars. Taxpayers deserve assurance that Medicaid dollars are protected against waste, fraud, and abuse, and that criminals who siphon from this system are held accountable to the full extent of the law.”
Federal authorities continue to pursue health care fraud cases involving Medicaid across multiple states. In April 2026, a Dearborn Heights business owner pleaded guilty to a conspiracy resulting in $1.9 million in losses to Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Federal investigators from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the FBI led the probe that produced this conviction, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Nesbitt has represented Michigan’s 20th District in the state Senate since 2018 and serves as Senate Republican Leader. He previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives before moving to the upper chamber, according to his official biography.
