Taves: Trump finds a new excuse to play games with California's cash

The Trump administration is deferring nearly $870 million in Medicaid payments to California and about $199 million to Minnesota, citing suspected fraud in their public health insurance systems. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said at a July 21 news conference that CMS is “done” chasing stolen funds. However, the Associated Press reported that the administration has not provided concrete examples of fraud in either state. The article also points to a prior CMS admission that it made a significant error in figures used to justify a fraud probe into New York Medicaid, and notes that California’s Medicaid director said CMS had not supplied instances of fraud, waste, or abuse for a $1.3 billion deferral announced in May. It criticizes alleged efforts to weaken inspector general oversight and highlights controversial clemency decisions involving health-care fraud.