The Trump administration announced yesterday it’s withholding a billion dollars in Medicaid reimbursements for California and Minnesota.
The Department of Health and Human Services says it’s deferring Medicaid reimbursements to both states, it says, to crack down on fraud. It’s the Trump administration’s latest move to withhold federal funds from blue states for unfounded allegations of widespread fraud.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is deferring 867 million dollars for California specifically. HHS says it’s investigating California for “spending growth that far exceeded national trends.”
Governor Gavin Newsom said the claims were politically motivated.
"This is politics, and you know it’s politics," said Newsom. "To the extent it’s substantive, bring it on. We want to work with them."
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the administration will release the funds to California if the state shows proof that Medicaid claims are legitimate. Newsom says the state has already been working to get them the requested information.