Congressman Valadao Supports Legislation to Reinvest Federal Funds Back Into State Medicaid Programs

WASHINGTON – Congressman David Valadao (CA-22) supported the Helping Encourage Lawful Payments and Strengthen Transparency, Anti-fraud, Tips, and Enforcement Strategies (HELP STATES) Act by joining as an original co-sponsor. This bill would allow states to retain a larger share of the federal portion of Medicaid overpayments recovered from fraud and require those dollars to be reinvested in state efforts to prevent, detect, and combat fraud, strengthening the program for the future. This bill was introduced by Reps. Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07), Rob Wittman (VA-01), Jen Kiggans (VA-02), Young Kim (CA-40), and Rob Bresnahan (PA-08) and is part of a larger package of 14 bills to incentivize federally-funded health program fraud-fighting efforts. “Medicaid provides critical support to families across the Central Valley, and it’s important we do everything we can to ensure funds are properly distributed,” said Congressman Valadao. “I’m proud to support the HELP STATES Act, which would give states a greater incentive to crack down on fraud, reinvest recovered funds into preventing future abuse, and ensure benefits reach the people they’re intended to help." Background: Under current law, when a state recovers an improper Medicaid payment due to fraud, it usually must return the federal government’s share of that recovery. The HELP STATES Act would allow a state to retain up to 25% of the federal share of a qualifying fraud recovery. These funds would be used by states to support Medicaid program-integrity activities aimed at preventing, identifying, and recovering fraudulent payments. Read the bill here . ###