ŠKOFJA LOKA, Slovenia: The Republic of Slovenia, the central European nation known for being the birthplace of First Lady Melania Trump and LA Lakers star Luka Dončić, is undergoing a radical shift in politics as the country comes to terms with its new larger-than-life prime minister. 

Prime Minister Janez Janša recently scraped together a coalition that did away with the country’s leftist leader, Robert Golob.

In what is his fourth term, Janša has begun what many see as Trump-like policy corrections. He has reversed Golob’s anti-Israel policies by announcing his intent to move the Slovenian embassy to Jerusalem, freezing Slovenia’s recognition of a Palestinian state and revoking a 2025 ban on military trade with Israel.

EUROPE’S ‘GREEN IDEOLOGY’ CLIMATE AGENDA RISKS CRUSHING ITS INDUSTRY, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER WARNS

Janša also believes in strong U.S. relations. During an America 250 event hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana, and with the First Lady’s father, Viktor Knavs, in attendance, Janša described how America was the beacon for Slovenian independence. «We imagined America, the United States of America, as the ideal embodiment of that free world… That Slovenia, too, would become the home of the brave in a land of the free.» 

Domestically, he says his new government will reverse what he called the Golob government’s «inefficiency» and turn Slovenia into «a country of opportunity, prosperity and justice, where each responsible citizen will feel safe and accepted.»

He has announced plans to reverse many anti-business policies, cut government red tape, support private education and healthcare, reform the pension system, decrease the size of government and invest in infrastructure projects, including a plan to build a second reactor at Slovenia’s Krško nuclear power plant.

Despite some policy disagreements, Janša was a close ally of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He has expressed support for Ukraine, traveling to Kyiv during his last term as prime minister in March 2022 with the then-Polish and Czech Prime Ministers in an early showing of EU solidarity against the Russian invasion and he recently returned to Kyiv to mark Ukraine Statehood Day as part of the Ukraine–Southeast Europe Summit.

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS SPANISH GOVERNMENT AS THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS SURGE FROM MOROCCO, EMERGENCY REQUEST DENIED

File: A sign which reads ‘Welcome to the Hometown of the First Lady’ in Slovenian, is pictured on November 27, 2016 in Sevnica, Slovenia. Born in Slovenia, Melania Trump was raised in the town of Sevnica, by her father, a car salesman, and her mother, a pattern maker at a textile factory. The former model will become the second foreign-born First Lady of the United States when her husband Donald Trump is sworn in as President during a ceremony in Washington DC on January 20, 2017.  ( Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

He supports increased military aid to the country and increased sanctions against Russia. And like Orbán, Janša was staunchly anti-immigrant during the huge Europe migration wave in 2015, when «Balkan Route» migrants practically marched through Slovenia on their way to other parts of Europe.

Janša often praises many of President Trump’s immigration policies. Although no reforms have yet made it through the Slovenian parliament, shortly after taking office, Janša joined 18 other EU leaders in signing a letter calling for «a fundamental change in immigration policy» and practice.

They called for reducing irregular migration, combatting human smuggling more effectively, increasing deportations, and strengthening cooperation with third countries. Janša said Slovenia is «finally joining» other countries calling for these reforms, writing, «The end is approaching for social tourism, overlooked people smuggling and the importation of voters for the European left.»

‘YOU’RE DESTROYING YOUR COUNTRIES’: IS EUROPE FINALLY HEEDING TRUMP’S WARNING ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION?

And, like Trump, Janša has his critics. He has been called «the greatest threat to Slovenia’s sovereignty and democracy.»

An aggressive user of X, where he comments on politics and criticizes his opponents in late night posting sprees, Janša has had battles with the country’s media, with many accusing him of undermining its independence.

Janša has also served time in jail, having been convicted and imprisoned in a case he called politically motivated.

Now serving a fourth non-consecutive term as prime minister— or predsednik vlade—he strangely lost the election that eventually put him back in office in June.

On two occasions, Janša and his party lost an election, yet he still became the prime minister. Think of it as losing the popular vote yet winning the Electoral College.

FILE: Residents of Sevnica, hometown of Melania Trump, wife of Republican presidential elect Donald Trump, hang a US flag as they celebrate the victory of Donald Trump in the race for the White House in Sevnica, Slovenia on November 9, 2016. Republican Donald Trump has won the US presidency with at least 290 electoral votes, securing more than the 270 he needed to succeed Barack Obama.  (Jure Makovec/AFP Via Getty Images)

Slovenes went to the polls on March 22 after a tumultuous four-year term for then-Prime Minister Robert Golob and his far-left coalition partners. Polls that had initially forecast a landslide victory for Janša tightened quickly in the run-up to election day. Golob’s Gibanje Svoboda, or Freedom Movement, party would «win» by taking 29 seats of the 90-seat legislature with 28.7% of the vote. That was a net loss of 12 seats from the 41 seats and 34.5% of the vote the party won in 2022.

Janša’s Slovenska demokratska stranka, or Slovenian Democratic Party, the party he has led since 1993, took 28 seats with 27.9% of the vote. The same 29-28 outcome as in 2008, when Janša also «lost» yet was able to form a governing coalition.

MELANIA TRUMP HELPS REUNITE FIFTH GROUP OF UKRAINIAN, RUSSIAN CHILDREN WITH FAMILIES

After a month of trying, Golob was unable to form a new ruling coalition. Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar said she would not nominate anyone for prime minister as no one was able to get the 46 votes needed in Parliament.

Enter Janša, who many analysts call a master coalition builder. After two weeks of discussions, his future government would end up receiving 51 votes in a secret ballot of the National Assembly: 48 from his coalition and their partners, two from the representatives of the Italian and Hungarian minorities in Slovenia… and, surprisingly, one from an anonymous member of the opposition.

Then Slovenia’s opposition leader and nationalist former Prime Minister Janez Jansa and his wife Urska cast their ballots at a polling station during the general election in Arnace on March 22, 2026.  ( Jure Makovec / AFP via Getty Images)

Janša has been involved in Slovenian politics since before there was an independent Slovenia. In 1988, he was arrested, tried «in camera» in a military court, and imprisoned by the Yugoslav People’s Army in what became known as the «JBTZ affair». He was alleged to have shared military documents with journalists. After public outcry at the time, Janša was released after serving six months of an 18-month sentence.

In 1989, Janša helped form the Slovenian Democratic Union, one of the first opposition parties in the then-Socialist Republic of Slovenia. After Slovenia’s first free elections in May 1990, Janša was named minister of defense, helping lead Slovenia’s 10-day war of independence against Yugoslavia in the summer of 1991.

In June 2013, the Ljubljana District Court ruled Janša and two others had sought about €2million (about $2.3 million) from a Finnish firm, Patria, to help it win a 2006 military supply contract. Janša was sentenced to 2 years in the same prison in which he began his 1988 imprisonment. He called the case politically motivated and, again, he was released after serving 6 months. The conviction was unanimously overturned by the Constitutional Court in April 2015.

Janša is expected to come to the U.S. to address the United Nations General Assembly in September. It is not known if he will meet with President Trump and the First Lady.

Applied Behavior Analysis therapy is a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of American families — helping children with autism develop communication, social and daily living skills.

But as Medicaid spending on the autism therapy has exploded into the billions and with fraud on the rise, a partisan divide is emerging over how states should handle public assistance programs for the ballooning treatment option.

Republican-led states like Florida have prioritized fraud enforcement and tighter oversight, while debates in states like Georgia have centered on reimbursement rates and preserving access to care. The scrutiny comes as the Trump administration has made it a focus of his second term to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse across federal programs, including Medicaid, a central policy priority.

Supporters of stronger oversight argue that every dollar lost to fraud is money that cannot be used to provide care for children and families who depend on Medicaid-funded autism therapy.

TRUMP ADMIN PAUSING OVER $1B IN MEDICAID PAYMENTS TO MINNESOTA, CALIFORNIA OVER FRAUD, COMPLIANCE CONCERNS

According to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Medicaid provider spending data, Medicaid paid more than $5.15 billion between 2018 and 2024 under one of the primary billing codes used for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy.

Three providers received roughly $685 million in Medicaid reimbursements during that period.

ABA therapy is one of the most common treatments for children with autism, using structured, one-on-one sessions to build communication, social and daily living skills.

Much of that therapy is delivered by Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs), entry-level workers who complete a 40-hour training program and work under the supervision of Board Certified Behavior Analysts, whose job it is to design and oversee treatment plans.

MEDICAID FRAUD FEARS GROW AMID MASSIVE RED STATE BILLING SPIKE IN SECTOR THAT ALSO PLAGUED MINNESOTA

Republicans have argued that eliminating fraud, waste and abuse in Medicaid should be a priority before considering broader changes to the program, saying improper payments divert taxpayer dollars from vulnerable Americans who depend on the safety net. (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Caring Across Generations)

As Medicaid spending on ABA therapy has surged, so has scrutiny over how taxpayer dollars are being spent.

In May, federal prosecutors charged two Minnesota autism clinic operators with allegedly billing Medicaid $46.6 million for services prosecutors say were unnecessary or never provided, including claims tied to children with allegedly fraudulent autism diagnoses.

Earlier this year, another Minnesota woman pleaded guilty in a separate $14 million Medicaid autism fraud scheme.

Investigations by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have also documented allegations that some providers billed for services that were never provided, inflated therapy hours and aggressively expanded as Medicaid spending surged.

MINNESOTA FRAUD SUSPECT SKIPS COURT, FORFEITS BOND, THROWING $11M MEDICAID CASE INTO DOUBT

The Trump administration has made eliminating fraud, waste and abuse in Medicaid a central priority, calling on states to tighten oversight and remove fraudulent providers from the program. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The Medicaid data also identifies examples of providers receiving unusually large reimbursements under the ABA billing code, including some claims that equate to hundreds of dollars per minute of therapy based on a standard 15-minute billing unit. The data alone does not explain why those reimbursements were so high, and billing experts say unusually large payments can reflect a variety of factors, including claim adjustments or other administrative processes.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that oversees Medicaid in partnership with states, told Fox News Digital it has observed «significant growth» in Medicaid spending on ABA therapy in recent years.

«While access to medically necessary services remains a priority, rapid program growth also underscores the importance of ensuring services are clinically appropriate, delivered by qualified providers, and supported by strong program integrity safeguards,» a CMS spokesperson said.

As concerns over fraud have grown, states have responded differently.

Florida says it recovered more than $72 million in improper Medicaid payments over the past year and prevented hundreds of behavior analysts from participating in Medicaid because of documented fraud concerns.

Last month, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a statewide Medicaid Integrity Initiative to strengthen provider screening, enhance fraud detection and increase oversight aimed at protecting taxpayer dollars.

While Florida has focused on strengthening fraud enforcement, Georgia lawmakers have focused on reimbursement rates. Lawmakers recently questioned a Medicaid managed care organization’s decision to reduce ABA reimbursement rates by 20%, even as industry representatives testified that use of autism therapy services had increased by more than 300% in recent years.

The debate reflects the difficult balance between rooting out fraud and preserving access to a therapy that many families say has been life-changing for children with autism.

En una foto tomada en 1982, Nina Blom aparece con una sonrisa, usando un vestido de verano, con su pelo corto y una expresión tímida. Parecía una nena común que crecía en los Países Bajos.

Sin embargo, la realidad de esa niñez estaba lejos de ser normal. Desde los ocho años, Nina estuvo convencida de que tenía una enfermedad incurable y que se iba a morir. Esa idea no había surgido de un diagnóstico médico, sino de algo mucho más perturbador: su mamá le había hecho creer que tenía dolores extremos y por eso la obligó a usar una silla de ruedas.

La verdad recién salió a la luz cuando un pediatra comenzó a detectar contradicciones en el relato de la mujer y sospechó que la menor podía ser víctima de un caso de síndrome de Munchausen, un cuadro en el que un cuidador inventa síntomas falsos o los provoca para que parezca que el menor está enfermo.

Una enfermedad que nunca existió

Los primeros episodios empezaron cuando Nina tenía ocho años. En esa época, su mamá la llevaba a distintos hospitales porque aseguraba que sufría fuertes dolores de estómago y que tenía una supuesta enfermedad muscular.

Cada vez que los médicos informaban que la nena estaba en condiciones de recibir el alta, la mujer insistía en que seguía sintiéndose mal e incluso le ordenaba a su hija que dijera que continuaba con dolor.

“No me tomes el pelo. Estás sufriendo y vas a decírselo al médico”, le decía su madre cuando Nina se negaba a ir a una guardia.

Durante unos pocos años, Nina fue internada al menos 15 veces en seis hospitales diferentes. También se sometió a muchos estudios médicos y procedimientos invasivos, entre ellos una biopsia de médula ósea, aunque los especialistas nunca encontraron una explicación para el supuesto cuadro clínico.

La situación fue empeorando con el paso del tiempo. Su mamá comenzó a obligarla a usar una silla de ruedas, hizo que dejara de asistir a la escuela y la aisló de sus amigos. Por eso, pasaba la mayor parte del día acostada en una cama instalada en el living de la casa.

En ese periodo, Nina se dio cuenta de algo que no lograba entender del todo: cada vez que ella sonreía o decía sentirse bien, su madre la castigaba.

Con el correr de los años, la mujer incorporó nuevos supuestos diagnósticos. Primero aseguró que su hija tenía una enfermedad muscular incurable. Después dijo que tenía problemas cardíacos y comenzó a repetirle una frase que se le quedó grabada: “Te vas a morir”.

Según el testimonio de Nina, su madre también le vendaba los brazos y las piernas con mucha fuerza para provocarle entumecimiento, lo cual le impedía seguir con su rutina normal.

Al estar tanto tiempo inmóvil, la nena empezó a perder fuerza en los músculos y finalmente necesitó rehabilitación para volver a caminar.

Mientras tanto, Nina vivía con una enorme culpa. En varias de sus internaciones compartió habitación con chicos que realmente padecían enfermedades graves e incluso recordó que uno de ellos murió durante una hospitalización. En cambio, ella nunca entendía por qué seguía internada si sentía que en realidad no le pasaba nada.

Por su parte, el padre de la víctima no cuestionaba el accionar de su pareja, ni se involucraba demasiado en la salud de su hija. Sin embargo, sí tenía actitudes violentas hacia ella, como una vez que derramó una taza de té caliente sobre sus piernas por una discusión.

El médico que empezó a hacer preguntas

El caso dio un giro inesperado cuando Nina fue atendida por un nuevo pediatra, a quien ella recuerda como “el doctor Vrienten”.

A diferencia de los profesionales que ya la habían visto, el médico comenzó a revisar toda su historia clínica y advirtió que ninguna de las supuestas enfermedades tenía respaldo en los estudios realizados durante años.

Además, observó que la evolución de la paciente cambiaba llamativamente cuando estaba lejos de su madre.

Mientras la mujer insistía en que su hija tenía una enfermedad terminal, el pediatra creía que podía recuperarse con rehabilitación y volver a caminar normalmente.

Las sospechas crecieron hasta que Vrienten decidió comunicarse con los servicios de protección infantil, ya que creía que se podía tratar de un caso de síndrome de Munchausen. Poco después, una mujer ingresó a la habitación donde Nina permanecía internada y le dijo que iba a ser trasladada a otro hospital.

La adolescente creyó que la llevarían a un nuevo tratamiento y llegó a decir que “prefería morir” antes que seguir internada. Sin embargo, lo que estaba pasando en realidad era un “plan de escape”.

Dos policías acompañaban el operativo mientras los servicios de protección infantil la retiraban del control de sus padres.

Una vez instalada en el nuevo centro médico, los profesionales comenzaron a retirar los vendajes que llevaba desde hacía años y colocaron una cámara en la habitación para observar las visitas familiares.

Las grabaciones terminaron confirmando las sospechas de los investigadores. Según el relato de Nina, su madre olvidó que estaba siendo filmada y quedó registrada la forma en que ejercía presión sobre ella para sostener la falsa enfermedad.

Por primera vez desde su infancia, la joven pudo repetir una frase que cambiaría definitivamente su vida: “No estoy enferma”.

La vida después del horror

Tras ser separada de sus padres, Nina inició un largo proceso de recuperación física y psicológica. Recibió tratamiento para fortalecer nuevamente su cuerpo, hizo terapia y, con el tiempo, decidió cortar todo vínculo con su familia.

Más adelante se mudó a otra ciudad con una nueva identidad, estudió arte, consiguió trabajo y formó una nueva vida lejos de quienes la habían sometido durante años.

Sus padres nunca reconocieron lo que habían hecho y jamás fueron juzgados por el caso. Incluso, según contó Nina, llegaron a contratar a un investigador privado para intentar encontrarla después de que ella desapareciera de sus vidas.

Países Bajos, hija, madre, enferemedad, silla de ruedas