Senator Grassley Demands Accountability on Medicaid Disbursements from California

Senator Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, is pressing both the Biden and Newsom administrations for clarity regarding the repayment of $52 million in "improperly claimed" Medicaid funds. Grassley has sent letters to California Governor Gavin Newsom and Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), seeking updates on California's commitment to return the funds linked to disbursements made to noncitizens with questionable immigration statuses. The issue stems from an inspector general's report that revealed California over-counted its reimbursable emergency care percentage by 8.49%, resulting in the improper claims from October 2018 to June 2019. Grassley highlighted that California has yet to adjust its algorithm for Medicaid disbursements, despite recommendations from the report. He questioned whether the state has repaid any of the funds and, if not, the reasons behind the delay. The audit, conducted by Health and Human Services Inspector General Christi Grimm, examined over $372 million in federal Medicaid reimbursements for noncitizens during fiscal year 2019. Grassley criticized California for using taxpayer money to provide federal health insurance to ineligible immigrants, noting that federal Medicaid benefits are generally reserved for citizens and qualified noncitizens. In a recent update, a spokesperson for CMS confirmed that California has returned the $52 million identified in the inspector general's findings, addressing some of the concerns raised by Grassley.