The HELP STATES Act would modify how states and the federal government split money recovered from Medicaid overpayments caused by fraud. Currently, when states recover funds that were improperly paid out due to fraudulent claims, the federal government reclaims its proportional share. This bill would allow states to keep up to 25 percent of the federal government's share of recovered fraud funds, giving states a financial incentive to pursue fraud detection and recovery efforts. States would be required to use these retained funds specifically for program integrity activities such as audits, investigations, data analysis, and technology improvements aimed at detecting and preventing improper payments, and they must report annually to the federal government on how they spent the money. The changes would take effect 18 months after the bill is enacted.