{"id":103,"date":"2026-05-15T07:35:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T07:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=103"},"modified":"2026-05-15T07:35:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T07:35:08","slug":"state-defends-medicaid-fraud-unit-after-vice-presidents-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=103","title":{"rendered":"State defends Medicaid fraud unit after vice president\u2019s criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Vice President J.D. Vance called Hawaii\u2019s Medicaid fraud enforcement a \u201ccomplete disgrace\u201d and threatened to cut federal funding to the unit, which receives more than $2 million annually but has produced zero criminal convictions in recent years.<\/p>\n

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Hawaii\u2019s attorney general strongly denied the characterization.<\/p>\n

Hawaii\u2019s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has generated no indictments or convictions despite handling 388 fraud investigations in the most recent year, 374 investigations in 2024, and 368 investigations in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a single indictment, not a single conviction, because the administrators of the Hawaii program just don\u2019t take it seriously,\u201d Vance said at a press conference Wednesday.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Hawaii\u2019s Medicaid program pays for health care for the poor and elderly, with thousands of providers receiving more than $3 billion in payments.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have had effectively free rein from the government of Hawaii to commit as much fraud as you want. That is a complete disgrace,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n

State officials dispute characterization<\/h2>\n

Attorney General Anne Lopez rejected Vance\u2019s criticism as a political attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitical attacks do not change the facts,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cHawaii has not ignored Medicaid fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has secured or helped secure more than $14 million in judgments, settlements and recoveries since 2021, filed recent criminal charges \u2014 and is actively working with federal and state partners to strengthen investigations and prosecutions,\u201c Lopez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe welcome accountability, but we will not allow the work of this unit to be mischaracterized as doing nothing,\u201d Lopez said.<\/p>\n

Vance also said the lack of action against fraud could lead the federal government to withhold service reimbursements as it did to California and Minnesota.<\/p>\n

The Department of Human Services said the state has received no indication from federal partners that Hawaii\u2019s Medicaid funding is at risk.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cHawai\u02bbi\u2019s Medicaid program remains firmly committed to partnering with the state\u2019s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) on investigations of alleged provider fraud,\u201d the department said. \u201cWe take instances of fraud, waste, and abuse very seriously and are confident that our federal partners will find no cause to withhold payment from our state.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Republican lawmaker Rep. Diamond Garcia said the vice president was not partisan in his crackdown and urged the state to cooperate more with the feds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere should be no need for the federal government to withhold Medicaid dollars because the leaders of our state should work in collaboration with the federal government,\u201d Garcia said. <\/p>\n

Comparison to other states<\/h2>\n

States with similar numbers of investigations had more convictions. Louisiana had 44 convictions, Maryland had seven, and New York had 25.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The lack of prosecutions could cost Hawaii more than $2 million in federal funding that pays for most of the unit\u2019s staff and expenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they do not aggressively prosecute Medicaid fraud, we are going to turn off the money that goes to these anti-fraud units,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n

Previous scrutiny and leadership changes<\/h2>\n

In 2022, the fraud unit was under scrutiny for generating almost no prosecutions from hundreds of complaints. The director at the time blamed challenges from the pandemic but promised improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fraud is out there, we just want to make sure we are doing everything we can to identify and hold people accountable for it,\u201d director Landon Murata said. \u201cWe have a lot in the pipe, I can assure you of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The unit also faced problems revealed in a lawsuit from former director Dawn Shigezawa, who prosecuted several cases until she claims she was forced out by then-Attorney General Clare Connors. Shigezawa\u2019s attorney, Eric Strong, said Connors wanted to use fraud unit resources for other purposes and Shigezawa resisted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat generated a backlash because they simply wanted to push back and not follow these rules because they wanted the money and they wanted the resources for whatever they wanted to do,\u201d attorney Strong said.<\/p>\n

Connors denied the allegation. The state is still fighting the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

Medicaid fraud can be difficult to prosecute criminally because prosecutors must prove a doctor or care home operator knew they were stealing. The state has pursued some providers for improper payment, but those collections also fall below those of other states.<\/p>\n

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Vice President J.D. Vance called Hawaii\u2019s Medicaid fraud enforcement a \u201ccomplete disgrace\u201d and threatened to cut federal funding to the unit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nState defends Medicaid fraud unit after vice president\u2019s criticism - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=103\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"State defends Medicaid fraud unit after vice president\u2019s criticism - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Vice President J.D. 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