News & Brews March 31, 2026
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Pa. AG’s office leads nation in Medicaid fraud convictions
A new report from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General shows that in Fiscal Year 2025, Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Fraud Control Section, housed within state Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office, ranked “No. 1, nationally, in criminal convictions, and third overall in charges filed against those who steal from Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program.” Sunday stated, “Our commitment to exposing waste, fraud, and abuse will not stop. Medicaid is a life-supporting and life-saving program for vulnerable Pennsylvanians — and those intended beneficiaries are harmed most by fraudsters and abusers.”
Trump hosts Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for Garrity
President Trump hosted a sold-out fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity on Friday at Mar-a-Lago, with the event headlined by Dr. Mehmet Oz. A statement from the Garrity campaign noted, “She was particularly grateful that President Trump was able to join her, and make his voice heard loud and clear that Josh Shapiro is the wrong man to lead Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania needs a governor who will partner with the Trump Administration, not a governor who is obsessed with using Pennsylvanians’ tax dollars to take the President to court.”
Pa. lawmakers spent nearly $10M in legal bills over 3.5 years
A PennLive investigation found, “In 3 1/2 years, Pennsylvania lawmakers spent $9.9 million in taxpayer money on private lawyers, despite having dozens of attorneys on staff.” Most of those legal bills from 2022 to mid 2025 (more than $9.3 million) were paid by the Senate. The most expensive of these bills over the time period included $1.8 million in the public school funding lawsuit, $1.4 million in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative case, and $1.2 million suing the state pension system over transparency.
McCormick supports increased NIH funding
WESA reports, “After touring several of the Pittsburgh region’s biomedical research institutes Monday, Pennsylvania’s Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick said that he would oppose a reported White House plan to reduce federal funding for the National Institutes of Health.” He stated, “I will be a strong advocate for increasing the NIH budget again this year within Congress. I’m an unapologetic supporter of increasing NIH funding and also reforming NIH to make sure we’re getting the biggest bang for the buck.” McCormick toured the facilities with NIH director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya.
Pa. businesses want tariff refunds
After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s tariffs, dozens of small businesses across the state have joined a national coalition calling for refunds. The progressive Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports, “We Pay the Tariffs — a coalition of more than 1,100 small businesses, including … [43] in Pennsylvania— reported that companies in the commonwealth had paid $4.5 billion in ‘illegal’ tariffs nearly one year after their announcement on ‘Liberation Day.’”