California’s $200 billion-a-year Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, is one of the largest public healthcare systems in the nation. Behind the staggering price tag lies a program repeatedly flagged for waste, mismanagement, and fraud, raising fresh doubts as state leaders propose taxing billionaires to keep it afloat.
For years, audits and federal investigations have documented everything from improper payments to large-scale fraud schemes. State officials have acknowledged that fraud has reached alarming levels in some sectors, including hospice services and in-home healthcare.
“Hospice fraud has become an epidemic,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who in early February announced the arrests of seven individuals accused of cheating Medi-Cal of $3.2 million through fraudulent hospices in Monterey County.
Despite these long-standing problems, the state legislature has continued to expand Medi-Cal with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval. As part of Newsom’s drive for universal healthcare, the expansion of the program to undocumented migrants proved particularly costly.
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