The $196 Billion Question: Where Did California’s Medi-Cal Money Go?

PJ Media ^ | 04/02/2026 | Stephen Green

[SeekAndFind]

What do you get when you cross the Corleone crime family with the Sopranos pulling off a heist even bigger than the Lucchese crime family's multimillion-dollar Lufthansa caper in 1978? I dunno, but it's got nothin' on California. 

If you haven't already read Rick Moran's excellent "Gavin Newsom, 'The Celebrated Jumping Fraud King of Calaveras County'," open that in a new tab, take a gander, then come back here. Because when I first read Rick's piece, I thought, "That's some massive theft going on, but how big is it, really?"

Longtime Sharp VodkaPundit Readers™ know I can't look at the big numbers without nerding out a little — OK, a lot — and processing them into easy-to-understand figures that will nevertheless cause your jaw to drop like pulling a 9-G turn without your helmet's chin-strap fastened.

So of course I ran the numbers, and... hoo-boy. I'll get to those in just a moment.

In a strictly legal sense, there's no evidence I'm aware of tying California Gov. Gavin Newsom to his state's multi-multi-billion-dollar fraud problem. But if you'll let me walk you through today's shocking numbers, maybe you'll agree that some sort of investigation is warranted. 

Let's start with Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid — the state health insurance program for low-income residents, because the spending is both massive and chock-full of fraud.

When Newsom was sworn in for his first term in 2019, Sacramento spent an eye-watering $93.5 billion on Medi-Cal. Seven years later, that figure has more than doubled to $196.7 billion. But let's be fair and account for inflation, since we got such a whopping dose of it during the Biden Cabal's reign.

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TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: california; medicaid; medical; medicare

[SeekAndFind]

Even with Bidenflation, that's still a 62% increase in just seven years — seven years in which California's population actually shrank by about half a million people, or about 1.3 percent.

So after inflation and a shrinking population, Medi-Cal spending jumped by about two-thirds per resident, to just over $5,000 for every man, woman, and child in California.

But Medi-Cal is just for needy people — technically speaking, and stick a pin in that thought — and roughly 14 million people qualify for Medi-Cal coverage. So that's $14,000 in benefits each year for everybody enrolled, and my research indicates that most everybody who is eligible is actually enrolled. Because with that kind of largess, why wouldn't they be?

I'll pause here a moment so you can ponder the fact that nearly 40% of California residents are considered "needy" enough to qualify for Medi-Cal.

A Medi-Cal benefit worth about $8,580 or so in 2019 (in today's dollars) is now worth $14,000.

Poor Californians must have gotten super-healthy since 2019, right?

[frank ballenger]

Where did the millions of dollars go with politicians in charge?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GumWeVdcof4

[Right_Wing_Madman]

Even with Bidenflation, that's still a 62% increase in just seven years

That's a 110% increase in seven years.

196.7 - 93.5 = 103.2
103.2 / 93.5 = 1.10

[factmart]

It’s really sad how much corruption there is in America. The more we know less of the Good book. The worse it gets.

[BlackbirdSST]

Send a Marine detachment in to seize control of Cali state/city government, arrest all current state/city officials, hold them until audits are complete, hold military tribunals and hang all those found guilty of defrauding America. MCGA!

[AZJeep]

I may be an old fart, but I do not remember so much fraud in the past!
Americans used to be very honest and taking government money was a sign of shame.
Even people eligible for welfare often proudly refused help!
Now, it seems like everybody is milking the government for everything they can.

Looks like, we are heading for the old Soviet paradigm.

“If you are not stealing, you are stealing from your own family!”
and
“Why rob banks, when government has immensely more stuff to be expropriated?!”

Shame!