* AP and KFF Health News…

The Trump administration is taking its immigration crackdown to the health care safety net, launching Medicaid spending probes in at least six Democratic-led states that provide comprehensive health coverage to poor and disabled immigrants living in the U.S. without permanent legal status.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is scouring payments covering health care for immigrants without legal status to ensure there isn’t any waste, fraud or abuse, according to public records obtained by KFF Health News and The Associated Press. While acknowledging that states can bill the federal government for Medicaid emergency and pregnancy care for immigrants without legal status, federal officials have sent letters notifying state health agencies in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington that they are reviewing federal and state payments for medical services, such as prescription drugs and specialty care.

* From the March letter sent to California’s Department of Health Care Services…

[T]he Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit that identified $52.7 million in overpaid FFP for Medicaid capitation payments made on behalf of individuals without a satisfactory immigration status and recommended additional work to recover overpayments. To date, [Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services] has collected over $500 million [Federal Financial Participation] for overpayments identified outside of the review period of the [Financial Management Review] and OIG audit. CMS has also been working with the state on corrective action for multiple state deficiencies identified by the state, CMS, and the OIG. […]

If CMS determines that California is using federal money to pay for or subsidize healthcare for individuals without a satisfactory immigration status for which federal funding is prohibited by law, CMS will diligently pursue all available enforcement strategies, including, consistent with applicable law, reductions in federal financial participation and possible referrals to the Attorney General of the United States for possible lawsuit against California.

* More from AP…

States under review say they are following the law. […]

Emails show Illinois officials met with CMS and sought an extension to share its data. CMS denied that request and federal regulators told the state that its funding could be withheld.

“Thousands of Illinois residents rely on these programs to lawfully seek critical health care without fear of deportation,” said Melissa Kula, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, noting that any federal cut would be “impossible” for the state to backfill.

We’ve asked the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services for its letter, the deadline to turn over the data, and whether any data has been provided. We’ll update when we hear back.

* Related…

* Fox News | House GOP eyes more Medicaid reforms in second budget reconciliation bill: Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, chair of the House Budget Committee, confirmed to Fox News Digital that his panel had begun laying the groundwork for a second reconciliation package. “Reversing the curse is a continuous effort when you’re $36-plus trillion in the hole,” Arrington said, referencing the national debt. “It’s going to take more than one reconciliation bill to get out of it. So that process is underway.” […] When asked about Medicaid specifically, Arrington said he supported proposals potentially blocking federal dollars from covering transgender medical procedures and from going to illegal immigrants. “I’d be shocked if those don’t go back in, in some form,” he said. “They also happen to be 80-20 issues, like 80% of the American people would expect that that already happens and are shocked that it’s not happening.”

* CPR News | House Republicans demand health care and Medicaid data from Colorado : In a letter sent Wednesday to Gov. Jared Polis and the state agency that administers Medicaid, House Republicans from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asked for detailed information about the “state and local programs that provide health coverage and other services for illegal aliens.” Specifically, they’re demanding lists and information, dating back to 2019, about costs associated with operations and medical procedures done on people unauthorized to be in the country. They asked for the number of individuals denied Medicaid due to unsatisfactory immigration status, a list of every procedure performed on unauthorized immigrants and “all documents and communications” related to Colorado’s charity care programs for immigrants.