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Dr. Oz Says HHS Will Hold Back Another $1.2 Billion in Medicaid Payments to California

Writer: Yossi Schmidt
Yossi Schmidt
19 hours ago
2 min read

The Trump administration is holding back another $1.2 billion in federal Medicaid payments to California, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said Tuesday at the White House.

Oz tied the move to the growth of California's personal care services program, which pays for help with everyday tasks for older adults and people with disabilities.

"I'll make this announcement today on behalf of Secretary [Robert F.] Kennedy, Health and Human Services, that we are going to defer $1.2 billion more dollars from California," Oz told reporters, according to the Washington Examiner. "They just got the note."

What Oz Said

Oz said the program's growth was the reason for the deferral. "California has been growing that program 24% in the last three years. That is twice the rate of every other state average in the country," Oz said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Impossible for us to understand how that could be so we are taking major action in California."

He also questioned what the state pays for. Oz described the program as "just that one little area where you're paying someone to carry groceries upstairs for your mom," according to the Examiner. "Many of you would carry groceries upstairs for your mom for free, but in California, they will pay you a lot of money for it," he said, as quoted by the Times.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Oz did not provide evidence of fraud during the announcement.

Oz made the announcement at the same Oval Office event where President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance unveiled a new Justice Department program that pays rewards for fraud tips. Fox News reported that Oz said tips from people inside businesses can help investigators find wrongdoing.

California's Side

California has pushed back on earlier deferrals. In May, after the administration held back $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements tied to hospice and in-home care, Gov. Gavin Newsom's office called the move a "sick" and politically motivated attack on services meant to "keep seniors and people with disabilities OUT of nursing homes," the Los Angeles Times reported.

Newsom's office has also argued that in-home care saves taxpayers money. It says care through the state's In-Home Supportive Services program costs $30,000 a year, compared with $137,000 a year for nursing home care, according to the Times. The paper also cited a 2020 California state auditor report that found nearly three-quarters of the program's caregivers help a family member.

Part of a Wider Fraud Push

The deferral is the latest in a series of moves by the administration to withhold federal health money from California, the Times reported. The administration has made fighting fraud in federal benefit programs a top priority, with Vance chairing the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

The New York Post reported that Vance has previously withheld Medicaid reimbursements from states for certain programs deemed at high risk of fraud and suspended 447 hospice providers in California.

Hold Everyone Accountable.

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