Has There Been a Coverup of Golden State's Budget Woes?

California, the so-called beacon of progressivism, has become a case study in how Democratic mismanagement can wreak havoc not just on state finances but on the entire country.

For years, California’s political elites have been running their state into the ground with reckless spending, bloated pensions and a tax-and-spend agenda that punishes hard-working citizens. But now, thanks to the enabling actions of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and his cronies in the Biden administration, they’ve found a new way to paper over their fiscal failures — by raiding federal Medicaid dollars and leaving the American taxpayer to foot the bill.

The latest con job coming out of Sacramento involves the gross manipulation of Medicaid, the federal program designed to help the most vulnerable. Instead of using these funds for their intended purpose, California’s Democrats have devised a scheme to siphon off billions in federal money to prop up their failing public pension system. This isn’t just a scandal — it’s outright theft from the American people.

Here’s how the scam works: Local governments rig the system so fire departments win the bid for their Emergency Medical Services (EMS) contracts, regardless of whether they’ve ever provided ambulance services in their history of existence. The fire departments then subcontract the ambulance services out to the private companies they just edged out of the competition for a lower rate but still report the higher cost to the federal government for Medicaid reimbursement.

After they receive that inflated reimbursement, these fire departments use the extra funds for other budget items unrelated to health care, most notably to fund their pensions.

How did this happen? In 2022, California’s Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) rolled out State Plan Amendment (SPA) 22-0015, a policy that drastically increased the federal reimbursement rate for Ground Emergency Medical Transport (GEMT) services under Medi-Cal, but only for government providers.

Private ambulance companies — those that actually operate efficiently and effectively — are being squeezed out, all so that California’s bloated, overpaid public sector can cash in on federal dollars. And who’s approving this fleecing of federal funds?

None other than Secretary Becerra, a long-time California Democrat and loyalist to Governor Gavin Newsom.

Under this scheme, California’s fire departments — already flush with taxpayer money — have seen their revenues skyrocket, not because they’re delivering better services, but because they’ve figured out how to game the system. They report inflated costs to CMS, rake in the federal cash, and then use the surplus to plug the holes in their underfunded pensions.

This is not just unethical; it’s criminal. California is effectively laundering federal Medicaid money to cover for decades of Democratic mismanagement and overpromising to public sector unions.

And what is Secretary Becerra doing about this? Absolutely nothing. In fact, he’s complicit.

As the head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Becerra has the power — and the duty — to crack down on this abuse. But instead, he’s turning a blind eye, allowing his former colleagues in California to continue their corrupt practices without consequence.

CMS even issued a bulletin on the abuse of federal Medicaid dollars in relation to GEMT and fire departments, but Secretary Becerra has failed to enforce this guidance in California. This is what happens when Democrats control both state and federal power — they use it to enrich themselves at the expense of everyday Americans.

This isn’t just about California, though. What California is doing today, other blue states will be doing tomorrow. If this abuse of Medicaid is allowed to continue, it will set a dangerous precedent, encouraging other Democratic-controlled states to pull the same stunt.

And who will pay the price? You, the American taxpayer. Your hard-earned money is being funneled into California’s corrupt pension system while your own healthcare costs continue to rise.

Let’s be clear: This isn’t just mismanagement; it’s a deliberate strategy by California Democrats to cover up their failures by looting federal programs. And it’s being aided and abetted by Secretary Becerra and the Biden administration. This is the kind of corruption that destroys nations, and if it isn’t stopped, it will only get worse.

It’s time to hold these Democrats accountable. Secretary Becerra needs to be investigated for his role in enabling this Medicaid fraud, and California’s abuse of federal funds must be stopped immediately.

The American people should not have to pay for the incompetence and corruption of California’s political elite. If California wants to run itself into the ground, let it — but don’t make the rest of us pay for it.

The federal government, under a conservative administration, must crack down on this gross misuse of taxpayer dollars and ensure that Medicaid funds are used for their true purpose: helping those in need, not bailing out failing blue states.

The American people deserve better than to be the piggy bank for California’s fiscal disasters. Enough is enough.