White House withholds $1.3B in Medicaid payments to California amid broader fraud crackdown
Vice President JD Vance speaks alongside Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz during a press conference on anti-fraud initiatives at the Eisenhower Executive Office building on the White House campus in Washington, DC, on May 13, 2026. Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images
ByEdward Graham,
Managing Editor, Nextgov/FCW
May 14, 2026 01:28 PM ET
Vice President JD Vance said the administration will audit states’ Medicaid Fraud Control Units and threatened to “turn off” federal funding for the watchdogs if their fraud prevention efforts are found to be deficient.
Vice President JD Vance announced on Wednesday that the federal government is “deferring” $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements to California and said the administration would withhold payments from additional states if they do not ramp up their efforts to root out fraud in federal benefits programs.
The notice came as part...
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