Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking another $1 million in taxpayer funding to defend his administration as Congress investigates California’s Medi-Cal fraud crisis and alleged failures in state oversight.
A letter obtained by the California Post shows lawmakers were notified last week that Newsom wants the additional money to address legal matters involving Medi-Cal program integrity, hospice fraud and emergency healthcare coverage for undocumented immigrants.
The funds would cover legal defense costs as California faces federal scrutiny over fraudulent billing in government-funded healthcare programs.
The request, submitted through the Department of Finance, follows two earlier allocations to the governor’s office: $500,000 in September 2025 and $750,000 in April. It also comes after the House Oversight Committee opened an investigation in March and demanded records from Newsom concerning California’s licensing and oversight of hospice providers.
Assemblymember David Tangipa, a Fresno Republican, accused Newsom of making taxpayers pay to answer questions about fraud that persisted under his administration.
“Newsom might want to get Medi-Cal under control before he starts measuring the drapes anywhere else,” Tangipa said, referring to the Democratic governor’s presidential ambitions. “California lost hundreds of millions to hospice fraud, and now taxpayers are being forced to pay a million-dollar legal bill to defend the mess.”
Newsom’s office said California is cooperating with Congress while accusing Republican investigators of waging a partisan campaign against states that oppose President Donald Trump.
“Despite the transparent political motives of these investigations, as they have targeted states that did not vote for the President, California respects the gravity of congressional investigations and is working in good faith to be transparent and responsive to congressional requests,” Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for the governor, told The Post in an email.
“We take fraud very seriously — and we believe that careful oversight and accessible critical care are not mutually exclusive. California cares about our communities and we will continue defending our healthcare systems from political sideshows,” Crofts-Pelayo added.
According to the Department of Finance, the new funding will come from a $25 million state fund established for legal defense efforts involving the Trump administration. The latest allocation would bring the total provided to Newsom’s office to $2.25 million.
“This appropriation to multiple state agencies is a reflection of the legal fishing expeditions that Washington has waged against California under this administration and this Congress,” H.D. Palmer, a Department of Finance spokesperson, told The Post.
The congressional investigation could intensify during Newsom’s final months as governor, with both he and his wife also the subjects of Department of Justice probes.
Federal lawmakers have alleged that California officials failed to adequately monitor hospice operators who falsely billed Medicare for patients who were not terminally ill. Investigators also raised concerns about multiple hospices being registered at the same addresses in the Los Angeles area.
“The committee is concerned your administration does not have sufficient internal controls to prevent and detect fraud and is not conducting proper oversight of these hospice programs,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, wrote to the governor.
The focus on hospice and Medi-Cal fraud grew in April after state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced charges against 21 people accused of purchasing stolen identities on the dark web. Prosecutors allege the identities were used to enroll unsuspecting residents from other states in Medi-Cal and bill the program for hospice services that were never provided.
Prosecutors said the defendants acquired 14 hospice companies and submitted approximately $267 million in fraudulent claims. The supposed patients were healthy, lived outside of California and did not know they had been enrolled in end-of-life care, authorities said.
Newsom and Bonta have argued that the case shows California is confronting the problem, pointing to a moratorium on new hospice licenses and the revocation of hundreds of licenses as evidence of the state’s broader crackdown.
But critics and federal officials have countered that California has a history of turning a “blind eye” to fraud during Newsom’s two terms as governor.
The Department of Finance said it intends to approve the governor’s new funding request no sooner than 10 days after its notice was sent to lawmakers Thursday.
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