California wrongly claimed millions in Medicaid services for illegal migrants: HHS watchdog reports

The state of California incorrectly claimed millions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding for health services that were provided to illegal immigrants, according to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General .

The OIG released an audit last month that alleged the California Medicaid program didn't use proper methodology to evaluate reimbursements for resources given to noncitizens who aren't eligible to be fully covered by Medicaid.

"States are generally prohibited from claiming Federal reimbursement for Medicaid services, other than treatment of an emergency medical condition, provided to certain noncitizens with unsatisfactory immigration status (UIS)," the office said in a statement.

The office explained that California’s Medicaid program gives coverage that goes above Medicaid benefits to illegal aliens.

The Inspector General said that California improperly claimed about $52.7 million in federal medicaid reimbursements.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration published a new rule that would allow thousands of illegal migrants to get healthcare through ObamaCare.

Taxpayers nationwide are paying for California's progressive policies. We need Trump elected in November if our nation is ever going to recover. It may already be too late.

Also, we are being "ruled" rather than governed when the President can issue a rule stating that illegal aliens are now eligible for Obamacare. I seem to recall politicians from both parties swearing that the ACA wouldn't cover illegal aliens. Just like everything else, they lied.

The audit itself reveals that the time period is only NINE MONTHS (from Oct 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019). The audit covered $888.8 million ($372.9 million Federal share) for “managed care capitation payments made by California on behalf of noncitizens with Unsatisfactory Immigration Status”. HHS decided the US taxpayers should eat $372.9 million of the $888.8 million)

Per the auditors, California understated the “non-emergency care” part of its Medicaid, that the feds do not reimburse, by $52.7 million. The billed amount wasn’t the sum of actual service costs — California just applied a percentage of their total spending for illegals’ Medicaid and claimed that much must have been it. California claimed their arbitrary percentage had been approved by HHS in the past, but could not produce any evidence of such approval. Whether HHS did more than guess was not apparent from the audit report.

But HHS did “suggest” that California return the $52.7 million now, while they figure up the entire amount for a decade plus. Remember that $52.7 milion is only for 9 months. No arrests or punishments for the enormous theft.

Remember that this is only the amounts spent on illegal aliens EMERGENCY medical care for those illegals signed up for MediCal. Who eats the emergency and other care illegals receive at emergency rooms and hospitals without paying? That likely is subsidized by Cal and US taxpayers via other programs to the tune of billions.

Illegals having access to Obamacare might not be as scary as it seems, unless illegals will get coverage for nothing. Obamacare plans have significant premiums (though these might get subsidies via tax returns) and deductables (which don’t). I suspect most illegals will just keep showing up at emergency rooms without paying anything.

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