Overview
- Sen. John Kennedy pressed Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche during a Senate hearing Tuesday over reports that California’s Medi‑Cal has paid for services such as exorcisms, tribal prayers, herbal remedies, in‑home chefs, gym fees, housing and meal deliveries.
- Blanche acknowledged under questioning that some of the examples Kennedy cited have been paid by Medicaid when they meet state eligibility rules for providers or family members.
- The federal government’s Vance anti‑fraud task force has frozen roughly $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion in federal payments tied to California home‑health and hospice programs while investigators probe about $600 million in suspected fraud.
- California expanded formal recognition in 2024 for tribal traditional healers and looser‑credentialed 'natural helpers' to improve access to culturally rooted care, but state officials have not provided a public, detailed accounting of actual Medi‑Cal spending on those services.
- Medi‑Cal spending has more than doubled since 2019 to about $220 billion, and the funding freeze could reduce payments to providers and prompt tighter federal oversight of what the program covers.