U.S. Representatives Kathy Castor and Darren Soto are urging a federal investigation of Hope Florida.
The two Democrats called on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to investigate the potentially unlawful diversion of $10 million in Medicaid funds by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, the Hope Florida Foundation and Centene in a letter.
Central Florida Reps. Castor and Soto’s call for a Medicaid fraud investigation comes on the heels of the debate in the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee over the future of Medicaid and House Republicans’ cruel proposal to kick millions of Americans off Medicaid to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. Republicans repeatedly claimed during the marathon Energy and Commerce debate that they were concerned about waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid.
Reps. Castor and Soto now point to a concrete example of potential fraud and abuse, while urging an immediate investigation into this inappropriate diversion of taxpayer funds to an unrelated political action committee.
“As members of the U.S. House Committee that provides oversight of Medicaid, I can assure you that Congress is very focused on waste, fraud and abuse of Medicaid dollars. Any unlawful diversion of Medicaid dollars in Florida means that the state is less able to provide services to our neighbors who rely on Medicaid and the providers who serve them,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers continued, “The diversion of Medicaid dollars requires immediate investigation. These are proceeds that rightfully belong to state taxpayers to serve the citizens who rely on Medicaid, including children, pregnant women, neighbors with disabilities and those served by long-term care.”
Tampa Rep. Kathy Castor and Central Florida Rep. Darren Soto, both Democrats, serve on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, and advocated for families and providers during the 26-hour Energy and Commerce Committee markup of what they called the House Republicans’ cruel proposal to slash Medicaid to pay for tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.
Read the full letter from U.S. Democratic Reps. Castor and Soto calling for a federal investigation of Hope Florida here:
CastorSoto_HopeFloridainvestigation
