Last week, Congressman Adam Gray and Congressional Delegation Chair Zoe Lofgren led the full California Democratic Congressional Delegation, along with Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, in a letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz. The letter urges the agencies to work with California to resolve outstanding documentation concerns, and release $867.5 million in federal Medicaid payments that CMS deferred in July pending additional claims documentation.
The letter states that the deferral could strain the state and affect access to care for Medicaid patients, including in rural and Central Valley communities where Medicaid funding supports hospitals and providers. The letter also disputes CMS’s suggestion that growth in California’s in-home care programs is itself evidence of fraud, noting the state has expanded in-home care because it is generally less costly than institutional care and has added safeguards to address oversight concerns. According to the delegation, California is working with CMS to provide the requested documentation and is asking the agency to resolve the matter without further disruption to payments.
The full letter is available HERE. For additional information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, Sarah Dukett.