Vice President J.D. Vance said that the White House is withholding $1.3 billion in federal Medicaid reimbursements to California, alleging that the state is not taking Medicaid fraud “seriously,” NBC News reported May 13.
CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, said California’s Medicaid records “generated major red flags” and that the administration needs the state to clarify $630 million in billing, $500 million in home health service and $200 million in “questionable expenditures” allegedly linked to coverage for undocumented immigrants, according to the report.
Dr. Oz said the $1.3 billion California withholding is the largest deferral the agency has ever made. In February, CMS announced it was freezing $259.5 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota, citing unsupported or potentially fraudulent claims in the state’s program.
Source: White House freezes $1.3B in Medicaid payments to California / Becker’s Hospital Review