Vance says $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments to California will be deferred over fraud concerns, Los Angeles Times, May 13, 2026, by Kevin Rector
Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the Trump administration is deferring $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements to California over concerns the state is allowing âfraudstersâ to drive up costs to taxpayers, including by pushing unnecessary medications on unsuspecting patients.
âThere are California taxpayers and American taxpayers who are being defrauded because California isnât taking its program seriously. But also, you have people whoâve been prescribed medications that they donât even need,â Vance said. âSometimes theyâve had drugs put into their bodies that they donât need because fraudsters have actually encouraged false prescriptions and false administration and medications.â
âA third of all these programs in the entire country are in Los Angeles. Ask yourself, how is that possible? Itâs not,â Dr. Mehmet Oz said. âTheyâre not that many people dying in Los Angeles. Weâre not talking about California, just Los Angeles.â
The announcement was the latest attempt by the Trump administration to highlight and rein in fraud in federal healthcare benefits programs, particularly in blue states.
âWe hate fraud. But thatâs NOT what this is,â Gov. Gavin Newsomâs office posted on the social media site X. âVance and Oz are attacking programs that keep seniors and people with disabilities OUT of nursing homes.â
Newsomâs office said that the growth of In-Home Supportive Services placements in California was âsimple,â and due to California âkeeping more people OUT of far more expensive nursing homes!â
Such services cover assistants who help people with daily tasks such as bathing, laundry or cooking; provide needed care such as injections under the direction of a medical professional; and accompany them to and from doctorâs appointments. A 2020 report by the California state auditor found that nearly three-quarters of IHSS caregivers assist a family member.
Newsomâs office wrote IHSS care costs $30,000 a year, while nursing home care costs $137,000 a year. âSAVING TAXPAYERS: $107K per person,â it wrote.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta also criticized the administrationâs moves. âOnce again, California appears to be targeted solely for political reasons,â Bonta said. âThe Trump administration is planning to defer over $1 billion in Medicaid funding for vital programs that help seniors and people with disabilities remain safely in their homes.
Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla also lashed out at the Trump administration. âThe Trump Administration is attacking California over claims that they canât back up,â Padilla wrote on social media. âLetâs be real, this isnât about fraud â itâs about punishing a state that didnât vote for him. Political retribution plain and simple.â
The focus on fraud comes against a backdrop of criticisms that other policy measures pushed by the administration have driven healthcare costs up or made it harder for people to access healthcare â including cuts to Obamacare subsidies and new work requirements in Medicaid, which are expected to strain hospitals around the country and led to millions of people losing healthcare coverage.
Comment:
By Don McCanne, M.D.
The United States has the most expensive health care system, yet its performance ranks lowest among industrialized nations, with more deaths and higher costs. Millions are uninsured or underinsured, impairing access to care and causing widespread financial hardship. For decades we have known that a well-designed single payer system would make comprehensive health care accessible and affordable for everyone in the nation.
The problem has been political barriers that have prevented a system of universal coverage. Instead we ineffectively patch our inefficient and expensive system with weak incremental reforms. This resistance to rational, comprehensive reform has included neoliberal influences on the political left, and even greater resistance by those on the political right.
Todayâs excerpt typifies views of the current administration, which operates from the political right wing. In spite of increasing public demand for comprehensive reform, the Republicans recently decreased coverage by cutting subsidies for individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act and increasing barriers to coverage under Medicaid, a program designed primarily for those with limited income. Millions more will have inadequate coverage or no coverage at all. Financial hardship will be common except for the affluent.
To avoid criticism for their lack of action in meeting our health care needs, the current administration resorts to gross distortions and outright lies â trying to direct blame for our sad state of affairs to others rather than acknowledging their own responsibility.
One of their favorite tactics is to accuse health care providers of fraud. Most recently, they attacked a program in California that avoids expensive nursing home care by substituting home health, often provided by family members. Rather than commending the program for greatly reducing costs, they call it fraud and impose a $1.3 billion penalty for allowing such efficiency. Of course the state attacked is Democratic, not one controlled by their conservative friends.
Once again, crass attacks demonstrate that health care reform should focus on enactment of a beneficial, well-proven universal insurance framework â immune to political skirmishes â rather than letting political ideology and tactics further compromise our patchwork insurance.
With the elections taking place over the next two years, we have an opportunity to select government stewards who support beneficial policies to take care of all the people. We can readily do that by rejecting detrimental politics.
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