JD Vance Withheld $1.3 Billion from Medicaid. The Scammers Already Got Paid.

Dr. Lynn Ianni went to the doctor for a pickleball injury and found out Medicare considered her terminally ill — because scammers had stolen her identity and enrolled her in a fake hospice. She testified before Congress. The Trump administration used her story to justify withholding $1.3 billion from California's Medicaid program. The fraud was in Medicare. The punishment hits Medicaid. Different program. Different people. The scammers already got paid.

Hospice fraud in Los Angeles County is industrial-scale. CBS News found over 700 of the roughly 1,800 hospice providers in LA County trigger multiple red flags for fraud. One doctor's name appeared on Medicare claims for nearly 2,800 patients across 126 different hospices. The administration's response: defer $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments to California, target Minnesota with $515 million per quarter in withholdings, and impose a nationwide 6-month moratorium on new hospice and home health agencies enrolling in Medicare.

This is a blueprint. Withhold Medicaid funding from any state where Medicare fraud is detected. Given that fraud exists in every state, they've given themselves permission to withhold Medicaid from any state, anytime, for any reason, by pointing at fraud. The fraud is real. The extraction was always the point.

SOURCES:

1. ABC7Vance says $1.3 billion in Medicaid money to California will be deferred

2. NY PostVance issues ultimatum to 50 states on Medicaid fraud

3. CBS NewsHospice fraud hearing exposes toll of suspected scams

4. CBS NewsHundreds of LA hospices have multiple indicators of fraud

5. CBS NewsArrests made in California fraud crackdown targeting LA hospice ring

6. Georgetown CCFCMS weaponizes fraud against Medicaid in Minnesota

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