{"id":4645,"date":"2026-07-21T20:10:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T20:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645"},"modified":"2026-07-21T20:10:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T20:10:18","slug":"feds-withhold-over-1-billion-in-medicaid-payments-to-california-minnesota-to-stop-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645","title":{"rendered":"Feds withhold over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota to stop fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is pausing more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota because of suspected fraud and noncompliance, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Read more Hegseth facing questions from Congress about emergency spending package<\/a><\/p>\n

More than $867 million for California and $200 million for Minnesota will be withheld.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf those states want that money, they need to provide documentation that these payments are legitimate,\u201d Mr. Kennedy said.<\/p>\n

If California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz want the funding released, \u201call they have to do is provide basic documentation showing that these services are legitimate and not fraudulent, and that\u2019s common sense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Department of Health and Human Services is also expanding its exclusion authority, which allows HHS\u2019s internal watchdog\u00a0to exclude individuals and entities from federally funded health care programs.<\/p>\n

This authority can remove bad actors from federal health care programs, Mr. Kennedy said, and in many cases, permanently ban them from returning.<\/p>\n

CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz said that withholding $1 billion is a \u201cvery conservative approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen there are signature and significant outliers, patterns that we have identified, anomalies that seem to happen again and again and again, federal law mandates us to pause that funding so that the states fix the problems,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In Minnesota and California, audits have unearthed \u201cclaims that smell like fraud,\u201d Dr. Oz said. \u201cAnd if it smells like fraud, we\u2019re not paying for it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

He cited California claims with \u201cunsatisfactory immigration status\u201d and a surge of in-home supportive services, of which the Golden State increased spending at twice the average rate of other states.<\/p>\n

Read more Leftist \u2018leaders\u2019 hate free speech<\/a><\/p>\n

In Minnesota, personal care and home-based services were high-risk categories susceptible to fraud, Dr. Oz said.<\/p>\n

Billing for deceased patients was an identifiable problem in both California and Minnesota, he added.<\/p>\n

In February, the Trump administration took several steps to crack down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud, including deferring almost $260 million of quarterly federal Medicaid funding in Minnesota while the feds completed a fraud investigation.<\/p>\n

In response, Mr. Newsom\u2019s office said Tuesday\u2019s announcement is \u201cthe same recycled political stunt we\u2019ve seen before.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia isn\u2019t being targeted because Trump has evidence of fraud,\u201d his office said in a statement. \u201cWe are being targeted for political reasons \u2014 and because Dr. Oz doesn\u2019t understand that we are *SAVING* taxpayers money by keeping seniors and people with disabilities out of far more expensive nursing homes!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr. Walz agreed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about fraud \u2014 it\u2019s about cutting your healthcare so that Trump can afford the tax cuts he gave to billionaires,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cThey\u2019re cutting more money in healthcare than they\u2019ve prosecuted for fraud. The math doesn\u2019t add up.\u201d<\/p>\n

A massive Medicaid fraud scheme by Somali-run daycare centers in Minnesota was exposed late last year. Federal investigators and state officials uncovered systemic fraud in Minnesota child care and food programs, and these investigations have led to the convictions of dozens of individuals.<\/p>\n

Medicare dolled out $57 billion in improper payments \u2014 of which fraud is included, but not the whole number \u2014 for the 2025 fiscal year, while Medicaid\u2019s improper payments totaled $37 billion, according to an April congressional watchdog .<\/p>\n

Mr. Kennedy said that $42 billion in Medicare fraud has been identified thus far.<\/p>\n

Read more A Minnesota town now boasts the world\u2019s tallest nutcracker<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is pausing more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota because of suspected fraud and noncompliance, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[175,2701,118,145],"class_list":["post-4645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics","tag-california","tag-centers-for-medicare-and-medicaid-services","tag-minnesota","tag-robert-f-kennedy-jr"],"yoast_head":"\nFeds withhold over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota to stop fraud - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Feds withhold over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota to stop fraud - Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is pausing more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota because of suspected fraud and noncompliance, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-21T20:10:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"headline\":\"Feds withhold over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota to stop fraud\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-21T20:10:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645\"},\"wordCount\":586,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/e5d3868be6b6dad352d216bd30dc34c2.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"California\",\"Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services\",\"Minnesota\",\"Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645\",\"name\":\"Feds withhold over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota to stop fraud - Home Buyer Relocation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/e5d3868be6b6dad352d216bd30dc34c2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-21T20:10:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/e5d3868be6b6dad352d216bd30dc34c2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/e5d3868be6b6dad352d216bd30dc34c2.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":700},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?p=4645#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Feds withhold over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota to stop fraud\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home Buyer Relocation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homebuyerrelocation.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Feds withhold over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota to stop fraud - Home Buyer Relocation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Feds withhold over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota to stop fraud - Home Buyer Relocation","og_description":"The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is pausing more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota because of suspected fraud and noncompliance, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday.","og_url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645","og_site_name":"Home Buyer Relocation","article_published_time":"2026-07-21T20:10:18+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a"},"headline":"Feds withhold over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota to stop fraud","datePublished":"2026-07-21T20:10:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645"},"wordCount":586,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e5d3868be6b6dad352d216bd30dc34c2.jpg","keywords":["California","Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services","Minnesota","Robert F. Kennedy Jr."],"articleSection":["News","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645","name":"Feds withhold over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota to stop fraud - Home Buyer Relocation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e5d3868be6b6dad352d216bd30dc34c2.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-21T20:10:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e5d3868be6b6dad352d216bd30dc34c2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e5d3868be6b6dad352d216bd30dc34c2.jpg","width":1200,"height":700},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=4645#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Feds withhold over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota to stop fraud"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/","name":"Home Buyer Relocation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b2ac56955b020950324cad4c6c27b42a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com"],"url":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}