California Rep. Jay Obernolte leads Medi-Cal fraud oversight letter, holds narrow lead in reelection bid
The gist
Republican Rep. Jay Obernolte led a California delegation letter pressing the state's Medi-Cal agency on oversight after an audit.
He is also slightly ahead in his race for a fourth term, with results uncertified until December.
How it unfolded
- Jun 4, 2026Obernolte and Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) released a discussion draft of the Great American AI Act, bipartisan legislation to create a federal framework for governing artificial intelligence.
- Jul 23, 2026The two lawmakers introduced the AI bill in the House, which would preempt some state AI laws and let the government restrict deployment of models deemed to pose catastrophic risks.
- Oct 15, 2026A California State Auditor audit found DHCS flagged about 28,000 Medi-Cal providers as high risk for potentially improper billing in fiscal year 2024–2025 but had not started referrals or investigations for more than 26,000 of them.