KFF HEALTH NEWS – A legal expert notes the U.S. denaturalization policy is legit but says “its use has historically been rare and reserved for extreme cases — such as war crimes or national security threats.” Plus, news about immigrant detention centers, including the “Alligator Alcatraz” set to receive occupants.
[EDITORS NOTE: Improper Medicaid payments were estimated at $31.1 billion in 2024. The mainstream media apparently considers this neither extreme noR a threat to national security. – HEADLINE HEALTH]
“The national Medicaid estimated improper payments are $31.10 billion.” – Payment Integrity Report, Department of Health and Human Services, FY2024
[Nonetheless, shameless Biden administration officials saw fit to accept the so-called Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting from the Association of Government Accountants. This interestingly named award supposedly honors “HHS’s perseverance and efforts in FY 2023 continue to demonstrate award-winning results.” – EDITOR]
MedPage Today: Defrauding Medicare Or Medicaid Could Put Citizenship At Risk, DOJ Says
Doctors and other naturalized citizens who commit Medicare or Medicaid fraud could be stripped of their citizenship, according to a new memo from the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“The Department of Justice may institute civil proceedings to revoke a person’s United States citizenship if an individual either ‘illegally procured’ naturalization or procured naturalization by ‘concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation,'” the memo reads. (Frieden, 7/2)
‘GET THESE PEOPLE THE HELL OUT OF OUR COUNTRY.’ – PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
AP: Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center To Receive Its First Immigrants
The first group of immigrants were scheduled to arrive Wednesday night at a new detention center deep in the Florida Everglades that officials have dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” the state’s attorney general said.
“Alligator Alcatraz will be checking in hundreds of criminal illegal aliens tonight,” Florida Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier said on the social platform X. “Next stop: back to where they came from.” (Anderson and Lavandier, 7/2)
AP: A Day Outside An LA Detention Center Shows Profound Impact Of ICE Raids On Families
At a federal immigration building in downtown Los Angeles guarded by U.S. Marines, daughters, sons, aunts, nieces and others make their way to an underground garage and line up at a door with a buzzer at the end of a dirty, dark stairwell. It’s here where families, some with lawyers, come to find their loved ones after they’ve been arrested by federal immigration agents.
On a recent day, dozens of people arrived with medication, clothing and hope of seeing their loved one, if only briefly. After hours of waiting, many were turned away with no news, not even confirmation that their relative was inside. Some relayed reports of horrific conditions inside, including inmates who are so thirsty that they have been drinking from the toilets. ICE did not respond to emailed requests for comment. (Ding, 7/2)
Masked, unidentified agents have been “systematically” cornering brown-skinned people in a show of force across Southern California, tackling those who attempt to leave, arresting them without probable cause and then placing them in “dungeon-like” conditions without access to lawyers, a federal lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday by immigrant rights groups against the Trump administration describes the region as “under siege” by agents, some dressed in military-style clothing and carrying out “indiscriminate immigration raids flooding street corners, bus stops, parking lots, agricultural sites, day laborer corners.” (Uranga, Mejia and Buchanan, 7/2)
[NOTE: illegal immigrants have no ‘rights.’ All Americans participating in ‘rights groups’ for illegals should be prosecuted for conspiracy to defraud the US Government. – HH]
The Texas Tribune: Texas Says Undocumented Patients Visited Hospitals 80K Times
Texas hospitals received nearly 80,000 visits from undocumented patients from December through February at a cost of $329 million, according to data released by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Wednesday. That’s about 2% of all patient visits during that three-month period. (Langford, 7/2)
Other news from the Trump administration —
Fierce Healthcare: CMS Sued Over Trump Administration’s ACA Final Rule
Doctors for America, the Main Street Alliance and three cities have sued the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) over a recent Affordable Care Act (ACA) final rule the agency said will help counter improper enrollments. The plaintiff cities named in the lawsuit are Baltimore, Chicago and Columbus. (Tong, 7/2)
Stat: NIH Cuts: Red States Losing Out As Canceled Grants Are Reinstated
After the first grant termination rolled into Professor Cheri Levinson’s inbox, her university told her it wasn’t worth taking the time to appeal the decision; the odds of success were too low. Ultimately, she had three National Institutes of Health grants terminated that were meant to support trainees from diverse backgrounds in her lab studying eating disorders at the University of Louisville. (Oza, 7/3)
This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
