Vance says $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments to California will be deferred over fraud concerns
Key takeaways
- “There are California taxpayers and American taxpayers who are being defrauded because California isn’t taking its program seriously.
- “We want California to get serious about this fraud,” said Vance, who President Trump named his “fraud czar” last month.
- “A third of all these programs in the entire country are in Los Angeles.
Vice President JD Vance and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz listen to questions from the media from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus on Wednesday. (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) By Kevin Rector Staff Writer Follow May 13, 2026 3:29 PM PT 1 8 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the Trump administration is deferring $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements to California over concerns the state is allowing “fraudsters” to drive up costs to taxpayers, including by pushing unnecessary medications on unsuspecting patients.
“There are California taxpayers and American taxpayers who are being defrauded because California isn’t taking its program seriously. But also, you have people who’ve been prescribed medications that they don’t even need,” Vance said. “Sometimes they’ve had drugs put into their bodies that they don’t need because fraudsters have actually encouraged false prescriptions and false administration and medications.”