By the Numbers

510%

In just seven years (2018–2024), Minnesota’s spending on state Medicaid autism-therapy jumped from $671,000 to $342.8 million, a more than 510% increase.

Minnesota is not alone. In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association introduced a single “autism spectrum disorder”. This coupled with the federal requirement to cover medically-needed services for children on Medicaid and acceptance of a one-size-fits-all therapy regimen regardless of severity opened the flood gates of fraud across the U.S.

For more details on this issue, see “The Fraud Behind the Autism Crisis” in the July 2026 edition of National Review (pages 18-19). One of the authors, Jeffrey A. Singer, practices general surgery in Phoenix.

What Counts

Government subsidies invite fraud. What the Cato Institute calls “The Autism Gold Rush” is just one instance of social services fraud to make recent headlines. Lack of accountability and taking the state and federal eye off the bottom line, steals from the taxpayers, but more importantly, punishes those in genuine need of services.

In response, the Trump administration’s Department of Justice consolidated anti-fraud work into its new National Fraud Enforcement Division.