Brian Blase, Ph.D., is the President of Paragon Health Institute. Brian was Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy at the White House’s National Economic Council (NEC) from 2017-2019, where he coordinated the development and execution of numerous health policies and advised the President, NEC director, and senior officials. After leaving the White House, Brian founded Blase Policy Strategies and served as its CEO.
Paragon and EPIC’s Joint Paper Exposing California’s “Money Laundering” scheme Referenced in The Federalist – March 24, 2025
On March 24, 2025, Paragon’s joint research paper with EPIC on the “money laundering” tactics used by California to fund its Medicaid program for wealthy seniors and illegal immigrants was referenced in The Federalist.
From the article:
By law and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rules, illegal immigrants are prohibited from enrolling in Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). By allowing illegal immigrants to enroll, Newsom directly contravenes federal rules and takes matching Medicaid funds that he should not. He acquires the money in several fraudulent ways.
Paul Winfree of Economic Policy Innovation Center and Brian Blase of Paragon Health Institute recently exposed a money laundering scheme that Newsom uses. California put a tax on insurers that increases “costs” to Medi-Cal. This forced Washington to contribute more taxpayer dollars to California. The state then approves higher rates for the insurance companies, which compensates them for the additional tax. California gains federal dollars. The only losers are taxpayers and the rule of law.
Another Newsom scheme involves having Medi-Cal pay for long-term care insurance for wealthy donors, according to Winfree and Blase. Newsom canceled the asset test that would prohibit rich individuals from qualifying for such insurance. He then uses “laundered” Medi-Cal funds to pay the additional insurance premiums.
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