Tag: welfare

Something Just Happened in Minnesota That Completely Altered My View of Reality

Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services (HSS), signed into law by then-Gov. Mark Dayton (Fricken Commie Labor-Dem) in 2017, came into effect in 2020 under Gov. Tim “Jazz Hands” Walz (Fricken Commie Labor-Dem). The three-year implementation wait was due to the need for federal approval “via a state plan amendment under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,” as my paid LLM research assistant put it.

Stick a pin in that part about federal funding. It becomes important in just a few short paragraphs. 

Anyway, HSS was one of those innocuous-sounding and ostensibly well-meaning programs purportedly meant to, as the Minnesota Prairie County Alliance put it, “help people with disabilities, including mental illness and substance use disorder, and seniors find and keep housing.”

But before we get to the juicy meat of the story, also tuck away in the back of your brain that I felt the names “innocuous-sounding,” “ostensibly well-meaning,” and “purportedly” before even getting to the substance of the program. 

“KARE 11 Investigates began publishing reports on Housing Stabilization Services last spring,” the local station reported Monday, “ultimately uncovering widespread fraud that included questionable billing, bribes, falsifying of records, and even billing for dead clients.” 

“Internal emails, fraud referrals, and county investigative reports obtained by KARE 11 now reveal a pattern of ignored alarms that left vulnerable Minnesotans waiting for help that never came while the state’s costs skyrocketed.”

CBS News has the shocking numbers: “When HSS launched in 2020, the estimated cost was about $2.5 million a year. But by 2024, it ballooned to over $100 million.” This year’s projected cost: $125 million.

Number of needy people actually provided with housing: [Shrug Emoji].

Keep reading

Investigative Journalist Nick Shirley Releases Video Uncovering $170 Million in Fraud in California

Investigative journalist Nick Shirley released his latest video on Monday, uncovering $170 million in fraud in California.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg in Democrat-run California.

“We uncovered over $170,000,000 in fraud as these fraudsters live in luxury with no consequences,” Nick Shirley said.

“California’s version of Medicaid called ‘Medi-Cal’ has more than doubled since 2022 from $108 billion to a proposed $222 billion in 2026. Their population, however, has not grown exponentially. However, their spending has,” Nick Shirley said.

“There has been a 1,000 percent increase in hospice care in Los Angeles County,” Nick Shirley said. It’s estimated that the fraud in California could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.”

Nick Shirley visited ‘hospices’ in Los Angeles and ‘daycares’ in San Diego.

The Somali ‘daycare’ owner/operator screamed at Nick Shirley and called the police after he asked her why there weren’t any children in the facility.

Keep reading

Over 60% on Welfare: Sanctuary States Quietly Turn Illegal Aliens Into a Permanent Dependent Class

Jessica Vaughan, director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said policies adopted by sanctuary states can attract illegal immigration and place financial burdens on taxpayers through expanded access to public assistance programs.

Vaughan discussed how certain state policies provide benefits to individuals living in the country illegally, arguing that these programs increase government spending and encourage illegal settlement in those states.

“Sanctuary states typically have other policies that attract illegal settlement and thus burden taxpayers with support of illegal immigrants,” Vaughan said.

She said that beyond providing emergency medical care and public education, some sanctuary states extend additional benefits funded by taxpayers.

“Besides funding emergency health care and schooling for all, a number of sanctuary states go farther and choose to provide Medicaid, subsidized health insurance, nutrition assistance, housing and much more,” Vaughan said.

According to Vaughan, those programs are used frequently by households headed by individuals living in the country illegally.

“Illegal immigrants use these welfare programs in large numbers,” Vaughan said.

Keep reading

We visited “ground zero” for hospice fraud: Los Angeles, California

At age 69, Lynn Ianni is a pickleball whiz, zipping from dinks to drives energetically. When she suffered an injury on the court two years ago, she sought physical therapy, and was surprised to learn her Medicare insurance wouldn’t cover it.

She was, according to Medicare records, dying and in hospice.

“They said, ‘you’re in hospice.’ And I said, ‘what? What are you talking about?” Ianni said. “‘Are you kidding me? Do I look like I’m in hospice?’”

Ianni’s Medicare number had been stolen, and used by a company to fraudulently enroll her in hospice – specialized, compassionate care for terminal patients nearing the end of their lives. It was another example of fraud in the hospice industry, long a nationwide problem. But her case arose well after officials had promised to stamp it out in California, where the problem has been especially acute.

Medicare is federally administered, and hospices must be certified for reimbursements. But the state issues the licenses for hospices to operate.

Three years ago, California’s state auditor sounded the alarm that Los Angeles County had seen a 1,500% increase in hospice companies since 2010 – more than six times the national average relative to its elderly population.

Keep reading

HHS finds Minnesota child care agency failed to verify attendance records and ‘pursue fraud tips’

The US Department of Health and Human Services found Minnesota’s child care agency failed to adequately verify attendance records or “pursue fraud tips” following an oversight visit in late January, according to a letter obtained by The Post.

HHS’ Administration for Children and Families informed Minnesota officials that its handling of the distribution of federal taxpayer dollars for child care in the state had “not established adequate controls to verify the accuracy of county-issued provider payments based on attendance of children.”

As a result, child care centers could get funding from counties — and counties could then bill the state and the federal government by extension — “without reconciling billed hours against attendance records, even periodically.”

Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth and Families also had “[l]imited staff and resources … to adequately pursue fraud tips and conduct proactive investigations,” Laurie Todd-Smith, HHS ACF deputy assistant secretary for early childhood development, wrote in the letter.

Just four investigators are working for Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program to address all potential fraud.

Additionally, Todd-Smith said, “Minnesota did not demonstrate that they are currently implementing required program integrity training for providers across the state,” meaning all child care center operators have to do is affirm they’ve read requirements to receive funding.

Keep reading

California bill seeks to restore Medi‑Cal coverage for undocumented adults in 2027

A proposed California bill could pave the way for undocumented Californians ages 19 and older to once again receive Medi-Cal coverage, beginning Jan. 1, 2027.

State Sen. María Elena Durazo and Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, both Democrats, introduced the Medi‑Cal Access Restoration Act to end the freeze and reinstate full‑scope Medi‑Cal benefits for undocumented adults.

As of Thursday afternoon, the bill states that it would “make an individual who is 19 years of age or older, who does not have satisfactory immigration status, eligible for the full scope of Medi-Cal benefits subject to certain limitations, such as the payment of premiums and certain dental benefits.”

According to the Fresno Bee, California faced a deficit of more than $10 billion last year before rolling back health insurance access for undocumented adults, a benefit the state had been expanding for several years, to help balance the 2025‑26 budget.

The state is again projecting a nearly $3 billion deficit as lawmakers prepare next year’s spending plan.

Lawmakers say the freeze does not eliminate health needs and instead shifts costs to counties, hospitals and emergency rooms.

“Undocumented Californians pick our crops, build our homes, and care for our families – and they pay billions in taxes to do it,” said Senator Durazo. “Denying them basic health coverage isn’t saving money, it’s borrowing trouble. We pay more when people end up in the emergency room. SB 1422 is the fiscally responsible thing to do, and it’s the right thing to do.”

According to officials, undocumented Californians contribute $8.5 billion annually in state and local taxes and make up roughly one-tenth of the state’s workforce.

Keep reading

RFK Jr. Blows the Whistle on $400M Autism Fraud Scheme in Minnesota

Acting HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience for the first time since taking his new role, and he did not shy away from detailing the fraud he says he uncovered after finally stepping into a position of power.

With Medicaid and Medicare alone, Kennedy said, “We lose just on Medicaid and Medicare, $100 billion a year. And it’s all just this, really, ya know, shocking, blatant fraud.”

As HHS Secretary, Kennedy described an industrialized scheme operating out of Florida, where P.O. boxes were set up for companies claiming to sell durable medical equipment like knee braces and wheelchairs.

But there’s one small problem: “They don’t have any knee braces or wheelchairs.”

However, they do have patient identification numbers.

Those ID numbers are used to bill the government for equipment that never ships. Kennedy said many of these schemes are operating out of countries like Cuba or Russia.

He then pointed to another staggering example: Los Angeles has more hospice care providers than the entire rest of the country COMBINED.

How is that possible? That’s because “it’s all fraudulent,” Kennedy said.

Keep reading

Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno seeks to ban welfare recipients from sending money abroad

U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) took to the Senate floor on Wednesday to request unanimous consent for his bill — one that would levy large fines against public assistance recipients in America who transmit money to foreign countries.

“If you are on any type of government aid, you are restricted from sending money overseas,” Moreno said during a speech today on the Senate floor. “We want to help Americans in need. But if they are in need, why do they have money to send oversees?

The “Stopping Transfers of Public Funds Abroad Act” would require anyone applying for federal benefits to sign a written declaration, under penalty of perjury, promising not to conduct any remittance transfers while receiving assistance.

Under the proposed law, any individual found to have sent money overseas while on those rolls would face a $100,000 fine.

“If an individual has enough cash to send money overseas, they have no business taking welfare benefits from hardworking Americans,” Moreno said in a statement. “The abuse ends now.”

The legislation targets programs defined under federal social security regulations, which generally include Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and other needs-based assistance.

While the bill aims to curb fraud, the policy would most directly impact American citizens and “qualified aliens”—legal immigrants who have cleared the mandatory five-year waiting period for federal benefits—who still maintain financial ties to family members in their home nations.

The bill defines “remittance transfers” as electronic transfers of funds to a person or business in a foreign country, a common practice for immigrant families supporting relatives abroad.

Keep reading

JD Vance, Dr. Oz make dramatic move withholding $259.5M Minnesota Medicaid funds in first battle in the ‘war on fraud’

Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that $259.5 million in Medicaid funds for Minnesota won’t be reimbursed due to fraud concerns — giving Democratic Gov. Tim Walz 60 days to submit a “corrective action plan” or face further withholdings.

Vance was joined by Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to make the announcement, which was first reported by The Post — one day after President Trump announced a Vance-led “war on fraud” in his State of the Union address.

The men also announced a national pause on firms that can seek subsidies through Medicare for durable medical equipment like canes and walkers.

“We are going to start very aggressively in the administration cracking down on the people and the organizations that are defrauding Americans,” Vance pledged after being delegated the role by Trump.

Oz said “Gov. [Tim] Walz has 60 days — 60 days, sir — to respond to our letter” if he wants repayment, which Oz said will require the state to “propose and act on a comprehensive corrective action plan to solve the problem.”

Keep reading

Dearborn Heights Pharmacist Pleads in $3.2 Million Medicare, Medicaid Fraud Scheme

Pharmacist Mohammad Hamdan of Dearborn Heights pleaded guilty Tuesday to involvement in a fraudulent scheme that cost Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan more than $3 million in losses.

Hamdan, 44, admitted that from February 2019 through June 2024, he used his two pharmacies to submit false and fraudulent claims for prescriptions even though the prescribed drugs were medically unnecessary, were not actually dispensed, or were not ordered by a physician, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

In many instances, the pharmacies — Prime Pharmacy at 1948 Ford Ave. in Wyandotte and Corner Med Pharmacy at 25302 W. Warren Street in Dearborn Heights — did not have the drugs on hand but billed insurers as if he dispensed them.

In all, Hamdan submitted false and fraudulent claims totaling over $3.2 million.

Hamdan faces a possible maximum sentence of not more than 10 years in prison.

Keep reading