ALEX BERENSON: Minnesota was only the beginning: New York's Medicaid grift is far worse
Fox News ^ | 12/31/2025 | ALEX BERENSON
It's not just Minnesota. Or just daycares. The deepest government honeypot is blue-state Medicaid.
And nowhere does corruption run deeper than in New York State, where everyone wants a piece of a $120 billion honeypot.
-- snip --
A few weeks ago, I received an email with the subject line, "Healthcare and the $2,100 Taxi Ride." The email began:
"I have a friend who drives a taxi in XXX NY. He estimates that 80% of the cab fares are paid for by Medicaid…
"Yesterday, he made a round tripper from XXX to Boston where a child had a two-hour appointment at Boston’s Shriners [Children’s] Hospital. The fare? $1,058.37 — EACH way. $2,116.74 in total."
It appears this was not a direct pay/bill to Medicaid, but a hospital pay from a fund they have for such "needs". I think we can safely assume these funds are either backed by state of federal dollars at the end of the day. His take? 37% — $783.
Attached to the email was a photo of the fare. The unusual name on it matches the unusual name of a child from a refugee family who was publicly reported injured in an odd accident.
The city where the child lives has several hospitals.
What exactly is this hospital in a different state providing — especially when getting to an appointment and back requires a full day in the back of a taxi?
How much is all of this care costing, if a single appointment costs $2,100 — the cost of a round-trip business-class, cross-country plane ticket — for transportation alone (before whatever markup the hospital is adding)?
And who is paying for all this care for a penniless refugee family from one of the poorest countries in the world?
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Fox News ^ | 12/31/2025 | ALEX BERENSON
It's not just Minnesota. Or just daycares. The deepest government honeypot is blue-state Medicaid.
And nowhere does corruption run deeper than in New York State, where everyone wants a piece of a $120 billion honeypot.
-- snip --
A few weeks ago, I received an email with the subject line, "Healthcare and the $2,100 Taxi Ride." The email began:
"I have a friend who drives a taxi in XXX NY. He estimates that 80% of the cab fares are paid for by Medicaid…
"Yesterday, he made a round tripper from XXX to Boston where a child had a two-hour appointment at Boston’s Shriners [Children’s] Hospital. The fare? $1,058.37 — EACH way. $2,116.74 in total."
It appears this was not a direct pay/bill to Medicaid, but a hospital pay from a fund they have for such "needs". I think we can safely assume these funds are either backed by state of federal dollars at the end of the day. His take? 37% — $783.
Attached to the email was a photo of the fare. The unusual name on it matches the unusual name of a child from a refugee family who was publicly reported injured in an odd accident.
The city where the child lives has several hospitals.
What exactly is this hospital in a different state providing — especially when getting to an appointment and back requires a full day in the back of a taxi?
How much is all of this care costing, if a single appointment costs $2,100 — the cost of a round-trip business-class, cross-country plane ticket — for transportation alone (before whatever markup the hospital is adding)?
And who is paying for all this care for a penniless refugee family from one of the poorest countries in the world?
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
