Vance says President Trump is concerned about Americans’ finances amid Iran debate
Vance denied the allegations about President Trump and said Americans’ finances are important as the administration weighs nuclear diplomacy with Iran.
Vice President J.D. Vance announced Wednesday, May 13, that the Trump administration will defer $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements from California as part of a new effort to root out fraud in federal health programs.
The issue of hospice care fraud in California has become a major focus of scrutiny by state leaders, members of President Donald Trump’s administration and critics of Gov. Gavin Newsom. In his announcement, Vance argued that the administration sought to defer these funds “because California does not take fraud very seriously.”
“There are California taxpayers and American taxpayers who are being defrauded because California is not taking that program seriously,” Vance said at a news conference.
Notably, this decision was part of Vance’s anti-fraud task force’s plan to implement a six-month data-based pause on new Medicare enrollments for hospices and home health agencies.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, led by Dr. Mehmet Oz, will use the six-month grace period to conduct investigations and scrutinize data about the Medicare program, with the goal of weeding out hospices and home health agencies suspected of committing fraud.
“Today, we are closing the door on fraud. We will stop new bad actors from entering Medicare, while aggressively identifying, investigating, and removing those who are already abusing it,” Oz said. “This is about protecting patients, restoring integrity and protecting taxpayer money.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the administration’s actions “unlawful” and said the administration would “carefully consider all available information” and may challenge any administration decisions that threaten “California’s rights and access to critical services.”
“Once again, it appears California is being targeted solely for political reasons,” Bonta told X.
“The Trump Administration plans to defer more than $1 billion in Medicaid funding for critical programs that help seniors and people with disabilities stay safely in their homes.”
Bonta and his office are trying to counter criticism that the state is not taking action against hospice fraud.
Bonta announced in April that the California Department of Justice had arrested five people in connection with a large Southern California health system that defrauded taxpayers of nearly $250 million.
“California has been at the forefront of protecting public programs from fraud and abuse for years,” Newsom said in an April 10 press release. “We will hold those who seek to extort taxpayers and take advantage of public programs, especially sensitive programs like hospice care, accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Newsom has not yet publicly responded to his administration’s decision to delay California’s Medicaid reimbursements.
But immediately after Vance’s announcement, Newsom’s press organization slammed X’s decision.
“We hate fraud. But this is different,” Newsom’s news organization wrote in a post on X. “Mr. Vance and Mr. Oz are attacking programs that keep seniors and people with disabilities out of nursing homes. It’s pretty disgusting.”
Noe Padilla is a Northern California reporter for USA Today. To contact him, npadilla@usatodayco.comX Follow him at @1NoePadilla or Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social.. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow TODAY Californian on Facebook.
