Federal Lawmakers Call for Medicaid Fraud Investigation Into Florida Anti-Cannabis Political Group

Two U.S. Representatives from Florida — Democratic Reps. Kathy Castor and Darren Soto — are calling on the federal government to launch a Medicaid fraud investigation into the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and political groups that last year campaigned against the state’s adult-use cannabis legalization initiative.

In a letter sent last week, the lawmakers called on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services to investigate a legal settlement between Florida and the state’s largest Medicaid managed care operator, Centene, which the lawmakers believe was “inappropriately diverted to unrelated political committees,” including the Hope Florida Foundation, which was founded by Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, wife of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

The letter tracks a series of settlements, payments, and donations that started with a settlement related to Centene overbilling Florida’s taxpayers and resulted in the company sending $10 million to Hope Florida, which dispersed the funding into political committees in a manner that “appears to run afoul of federal law,” the lawmakers wrote.

“As members of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee that provides oversight of Medicaid, we 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 support the providers who serve them.” — Excerpt from the letter

“Medicaid is a federal/state partnership, and the federal government may be entitled to recoup funds from the legal settlement and improperly diverted funds as well,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

Florida voters ultimately rejected the constitutional amendment to legalize adult-use cannabis — the amendment required 60% support to pas,s but fell short with just under 56% of the vote.