The Trump administration on Tuesday sued New York state officials and Public Partnerships LLC, accusing them of facilitating fraud in a $10 billion Medicaid home-care program serving disabled patients, according to a U.S. Department of Justice release.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, names the New York State Department of Health, state Medicaid Director Amir Bassiri and Public Partnerships LLC (PPL), an Alpharetta, Georgia-based company managing New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistant Program, or CDPAP.
Federal prosecutors allege New York used a sham bidding process to award PPL the contract in late 2024, allowing the company to generate millions in unauthorized taxpayer-funded profits.
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald said New York’s “backroom deal” with PPL cost taxpayers millions and harmed vulnerable Medicaid patients. The Justice Department is seeking to stop further alleged misconduct and block additional unauthorized charges to taxpayers.
Contract Scrutiny Intensifies
CDPAP provides home-care support through caregivers for Medicaid patients with disabilities or significant medical needs. The DOJ alleges both PPL and New York misled the public about the transition timeline despite knowing the transition would likely miss its April 1, 2025 deadline and disrupt patient care statewide.
The lawsuit also claims PPL exceeded contract revenue limits, erasing expected cost savings worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
PPL denied the allegations, saying it was selected through a transparent and competitive process. New York’s Department of Health also pushed back, calling the lawsuit “baseless” and politically motivated, according to The Associated Press.
The latest enforcement action comes two months after the Trump administration acknowledged factual errors in an earlier New York Medicaid fraud probe, adding fresh political scrutiny to the latest enforcement action.
Broader Medicaid Fraud Push
The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration intensifies anti-fraud efforts across Medicaid. In April, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz ordered all 50 states to submit Medicaid fraud prevention plans or face aggressive federal audits.
Oz has repeatedly said reducing fraud, waste and abuse in Medicaid remains a core priority as the administration pushes broader healthcare reforms.
The enforcement drive has also widened across federal programs. In May, Vice President JD Vance said officials had identified billions of dollars in suspected fraud and deferred more than $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements as part of a broader nationwide crackdown on government benefits abuse.
Disclaimer: This content was produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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