Team Trump\u2019s crackdown on Medicaid fraud, headed by Vice President JD Vance, spells big trouble for Democrats \u2014 who pretend to care about health care for the poor but let tens of billions flow to special-interest allies.<\/p>\n
That makes a sweeping anti-fraud campaign imperative, especially for those in need.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Vance announced a freeze<\/a> on $1.3 billion in federal reimbursements for care at 800 California hospices.<\/p>\n Why? <\/p>\n Dr. Mehmet Oz, who oversees Medicare and Medicaid, notes that a third of the nation\u2019s hospices are in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPost Editorial Board<\/p>\n \u201cHow is that possible?\u201d he asks. <\/p>\n \u201cThere are not that many people dying in Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n Oz believes at least half of LA\u2019s hospices \u201care fraudulent.\u201d<\/p>\n California \u201chas not taken fraud very seriously,\u201d notes Vance; \u201cHow long are people going to pay into programs if they know that that money doesn\u2019t go to a low-income kid who needs health care, but . . . [to] a fraudster?\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, the nation shells out about $1 trillion on Medicaid every year, with about two-thirds coming from Washington. California\u2019s outlay: $222 billion. New York\u2019s: $124 billion.<\/p>\n All ripe for fraud and corruption.<\/p>\n New York is no slouch either when it comes to scams <\/a>\u2014 many visibly geared to enrich Democrats\u2019 allies.<\/p>\n The Empire Center\u2019s Bill Hammond has flagged several:<\/p>\n \u201cHundreds of millions\u201d for the Advanced Training Initiative was supposed \u201cto improve care for nursing home residents\u201d but instead went \u201cto subsidize health coverage\u201d for health-care union 1199SEIU\u2019s members.<\/p>\n The union also diverted taxpayer funds to a group that lobbies for more Medicaid spending.<\/p>\n Gov. Kathy Hochul arranged a $29 million \u201cdistressed provider\u201d grant for Somos Community Care while her campaign banked $400,000 from Somos-affiliated donors.<\/p>\n Costs for the state\u2019s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, which funds home-care aides, are now about $15 billion a year, nearly triple the amount of a decade ago.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet opinions and commentary from our columnists\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter!\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n And after Hochul claimed to reform CDPAP by contracting with a private company, Public Partnerships LLC, the contract wound up being probed for bid-rigging<\/a>.<\/p>\n