Trump admin freezes more than $1 billion in Medicaid funds
Summary
The Trump administration is stopping over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota because of questionable claims for in-home care services. Federal health officials want the states to investigate these claims more closely before releasing the funds.Key Facts
- The administration is holding back about $867.5 million for California and $199 million for Minnesota in Medicaid payments.
- The freezes come after financial reviews found unsupported or suspicious claims related to in-home care.
- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) identified areas where claims grew faster than national trends or lacked proper documents.
- The Department of Health and Human Services plans to increase efforts to remove providers who commit fraud or misuse federal health programs.
- Last year, the administration used Minnesota’s fraud problems to justify increased immigration enforcement actions.
- In May, CMS deferred $1.3 billion in Medicaid funds to California, the largest deferral ever by the agency.
- CMS also placed a six-month pause on enrolling new hospice and home health providers to reduce fraud.
- CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz said this approach protects taxpayer money from being stolen or misused.
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