It's odd that fraud only seems to happen in blue states
Julia Conley for Common Dreams
Vance and Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, claimed the state’s Medicaid records have generated
“red flags” and demanded officials clarify $630 million in billing, $500
million that’s been spent on home health services, and $200 million in what Oz
called “questionable expenditures,” which he claimed had been used to provide
coverage for undocumented immigrants, who are not eligible for Medicaid.
The announcement came a month after Vance’s federal
anti-fraud task force suspended the licenses of nearly 450 hospice care
facilities and 23 home health agencies in the Los Angeles area, accusing them
of fraud.
“We can turn off other resources within their state Medicaid
programs as well,” said the vice president.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has
frequently sparred with the Trump
administration, said Vance and Oz were “attacking programs that keep
seniors and people with disabilities OUT of nursing homes,” which are far more
expensive to run than home healthcare agencies.
Newsom said the growth of the state’s In-Home Supportive
Services program has saved taxpayers “$107,000 per person” by reducing reliance
on nursing homes.
“MAGA hates in-home support programs—which help people stay
out of costly institutional settings like nursing homes and get the care they
deserve, typically from loved ones,” said Newsom.
Newsom also said the Trump administration had informed state
officials that the deadline to review California’s Medicaid records “before
deciding whether to defer funding” would be later in the month.
Democratic members of Congress warned that their constituents rely heavily on Medicaid, with seven out of 10 of the congressional districts with the highest Medicaid enrollment located in California.
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) said that
56% of her constituents rely on “this lifesaving program,” and many have
already been harmed by the Republican Party’s slashing of Medicaid funding in
the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year.
“Withholding reimbursements only further hurts patients,
strains providers, and drives up costs,” said Kamlager-Dove. “We will fight
this with everything we’ve got.”
Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) said more
than 120,000 people in his district depend on the federal healthcare program
for low-income households and people with disabilities.
“This administration needs to stop playing politics with
people’s health and lives,” said Panetta. “When people commit fraud, they
should be punished accordingly. However, this administration continues to
punish California for political purposes, including penalizing innocent people
by taking their healthcare away.”
State Attorney General Rob Bonta noted that
California has “not hesitated to challenge unlawful actions by the Trump
administration,” and suggested the state could file a legal challenge against
the withholding of Medicaid funds.
He also accused the administration of targeting the heavily
Democratic state “for political reasons.”
The anti-fraud task force led by Vance has so far
exclusively focused on rooting out alleged fraud in federal programs in blue
states. The White
House suspended $259 million in federal payments to
Minnesota earlier this year after a scandal regarding the state’s social
services system.
“The Trump administration is attacking California over
claims that they can’t back up,” said Padilla. “Let’s be real, this isn’t about
fraud—it’s about punishing a state that didn’t vote for” President Donald Trump.
