Barragán Leads Push to Restore $1.1 Billion for Home Care

Washington D.C. — Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44), along with California Democratic Congressional Delegation Chair Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), and Representatives Doris Matsui (CA-07) and Derek Tran (CA-45), led members of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation in urging Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or CMS administrator Mehmet Oz to reverse a decision to defer $1.1 billion in federal funding for California’s In-Home Supportive Services  or IHSS program. As a longtime advocate for vulnerable communities, Rep. Barragán is spearheading this effort to protect Medicaid’s essential home- and community-based services that allow seniors and people with disabilities, including children, to receive care in their homes rather than in institutional settings.

In the letter, Rep. Barragán and her colleagues emphasize that IHSS serves more than 900,000 Californians and provides critical daily supports, including personal care, meal preparation, and medical assistance. The members raise serious concerns that CMS’s justification—allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse—lacks sufficient evidence and instead results in broad, indiscriminate funding delays that harm beneficiaries and caregivers alike. They underscore that California’s increased IHSS expenditures reflect deliberate investments to meet growing needs.

“In addition, Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration are harming patients through $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act and undermining actual efforts to fight fraud, including the Administration’s decision to fire at least 17 inspectors general, including the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services,” the Members point out in the letter. 

Members of the delegation warn that defunding IHSS could force individuals into more costly institutional care or homelessness, ultimately increasing federal spending and destabilizing care systems. The letter calls on HHS to immediately restore the funding in order to protect access to essential Medicaid services.

Details: Find the letter HERE.