Why It Matters
A Medicaid fraud investigation in Virginia is leaving thousands of low-income patients without access to healthcare services, raising urgent questions about continuity of care in the Hampton Roads region. The case involving Fishing Point Healthcare — a network of clinics associated with the Nansemond Tribe — highlights the tension between state obligations to investigate suspected fraud and the real-world consequences for vulnerable patient populations who depend on Medicaid-funded services.
With a service suspension deadline of April 15, 2026, patients in Newport News and Portsmouth face an accelerating scramble to find new providers in a region where healthcare access is already strained for low-income residents.
What Happened
Fishing Point Healthcare, which operates clinics in Newport News and Portsmouth, Virginia, announced it would suspend Medicaid services on April 15, 2026, after the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) stopped reimbursing the organization for Medicaid services beginning in April 2025.
The payment suspension was triggered by a state investigation into suspected Medicaid fraud. Under federal law, when credible evidence of fraud involving federal funds emerges, state agencies are required to suspend reimbursements while investigations proceed. DMAS’ probe into Fishing Point is ongoing, and no charges or formal findings have been publicly announced.
The situation came into public view when Fishing Point posted a notice on its website announcing the suspension of Medicaid services. The issue gained further attention at an Affordable Care Act anniversary event in Newport News on March 23, 2026, where Fishing Point board member David Darling addressed state officials directly, describing the financial and emotional toll the situation has taken on both providers and patients.
“I am struggling to sleep at night over what’s about to happen,” Darling said at the event, urging officials to resume Medicaid reimbursements. He characterized the origins of the dispute as “what started off as administrative confusion” and indicated that both DMAS and the Virginia Attorney General’s office are involved, with neither agency moving to resume payments.
Virginia Health and Human Resources Secretary Marvin Figueroa, who was a panelist at the same event, acknowledged the state’s obligation to investigate credible fraud allegations while expressing concern about service disruption. “Our goal is always not to cut off services,” Figueroa said, but added that federal regulations require payment pauses when fraud evidence emerges.
Fishing Point is associated with the Nansemond Tribe. Calls to the tribe and to Fishing Point’s clinic locations went unanswered this week. Darling did not respond to follow-up questions following the March 23 event.
By the Numbers
- April 2025: The month DMAS stopped disbursing Medicaid reimbursements to Fishing Point Healthcare — meaning the clinics have gone approximately one year without state Medicaid funding.
- April 15, 2026: The deadline by which Fishing Point will suspend Medicaid services entirely if reimbursements are not restored.
- 2 clinic locations in Hampton Roads — Newport News and Portsmouth — are affected by the service suspension.
- Thousands of Medicaid patients are currently seeking alternative providers ahead of the suspension deadline, according to reporting by the Virginia Mercury.
- 2 state administrations have overseen the investigation — the issue originated under former Health Secretary Janet Kelly and Attorney General Jason Miyares, and has continued under their successors, Secretary Figueroa and Attorney General Jay Jones.
Zoom Out
Medicaid fraud investigations triggering payment suspensions are not uncommon across the United States, but they frequently create a difficult policy dilemma: the legal requirement to pause funding conflicts with the practical need to protect patients who had no role in any alleged wrongdoing. Federal Medicaid regulations under 42 CFR Part 455 mandate that states suspend payments when a credible allegation of fraud exists, a rule designed to protect taxpayer dollars but one that can destabilize healthcare providers serving underserved communities.
Tribal-affiliated healthcare providers have faced particular scrutiny in recent years, as federal and state governments have increased oversight of Medicaid billing practices across Native American health organizations nationwide. At the same time, advocates argue that enforcement actions disproportionately disrupt services to populations with limited healthcare alternatives.
What’s Next
The DMAS investigation into Fishing Point Healthcare remains active, with no public timeline announced for its resolution. Virginia Health Secretary Figueroa indicated he would personally follow up on the matter after the March 23 event, though no formal state action has been publicly announced since then.
Medicaid patients currently served by Fishing Point’s Newport News and Portsmouth clinics have until April 15, 2026, to secure alternative providers. State and local health officials in Hampton Roads are expected to face increasing pressure to facilitate patient transitions as the deadline approaches. Whether DMAS or the Attorney General’s office will move to resolve the payment dispute before that date remains unclear.