Republicans in the California State Assembly on Wednesday ripped into Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and his state attorney general, Rob Bonta, for showboating on tackling fraud.
The assemblymembers called for a focused legislative response to examine the full scope of fraud, including failures in oversight. Reforms are needed to protect taxpayer dollars, they said.
“The governor says he’s stopping licensure, he already licensed this doctor, who defrauded us $270 million,” said Assemblymember James Gallagher, who’s also running for Congress. “This governor and the politicians that have had power here have done nothing about. They’ve ignored it. And they continue to throw good money after bad. We’re here to say enough is enough.”
Fraud has been reported to exist in major state programs, including Medi-Cal, in-home supportive services, unemployment insurance, and infrastructure projects.
California is being investigated by a powerful congressional committee after The California Post exposed rampant hospice fraud that’s cost taxpayers more than $100 million.
Highlights of fraud in the state have also been amplified by conservative Youtuber Nick Shirley and Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
“We are major focused on this issue, and I think our suspicion, our belief, is that the fraud in California will magnify whatever’s happening in Minnesota,” United States Attorney Bill Essayli said. “What’s happening in Minnesota pales in comparison to the level of fraud that we believe is occurring in California.”
Newsom and Bonta for much of the year have been trying to fend off attacks on their administration for widespread fraud. On April 9, Bonta made a major announcement in charges against 14 hospice companies who had billed Medi-Cal and Medicaid for $267 million in non-existent services.
“We have been doing this work for years. We’ve been doing it successfully before certain people in this country decided to think about it for the first time,” Bonta said, referring to Republican attacks on the issue.
Still, many questioned the announcement as Democrats trying to spin something positive off of a crisis.
“It shows how large this problem became before it was stopped,” said Assembly GOP Leader Heath Flora. “The question is so simple: why did it take so long to get here?”
More announcements won’t change a thing, Flora said, until structural reforms on oversight happen. It’s why a special legislative session is necessary.
“Put real funding behind enforcement and bring every department in and get answers,” he said.
The special session call won’t likely be heeded by Newsom or state Democrats who control the legislature. Newsom has continually insisted the state has always been tackling fraud.
“The federal government is now trying to intimidate and target California with baseless allegations of ‘massive fraud,’” Newsom previously said in a statement. “The rule of law isn’t a political weapon — it’s a promise, and we won’t let it be twisted to settle scores.”
