Why It Matters

California's Alameda County registered Picard Group LLC as its lobbying firm on July 1, marking its entry into federal advocacy across six policy areas: Medicare and Medicaid, agriculture, budget and appropriations, housing, health issues, and law enforcement and criminal justice.

The lobbying registration disclosure names Emily Da Silva, a partner at Picard Group, and Curtis Erdmann, the firm's senior director of federal affairs, as the primary advocates for the county. Da Silva brings congressional experience, having served as a legislative assistant in former Sen. John Breaux's office during the 108th Congress.

The Agenda

Healthcare fraud in California counties has drawn congressional scrutiny. During an April House Ways and Means hearing, Rep. Jason Smith highlighted that Los Angeles County had 700 of 1,800 hospice companies with red flags for fraudulent practices. He also noted that hospice facilities in Los Angeles County surged 1,500 percent between 2010 and 2022.

Sheila Clark, President and CEO of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association, testified that home health payments in Los Angeles reached 1.7 billion dollars in 2024, roughly double the 2018 level. The number of home health agencies billing Medicare in Los Angeles grew from 655 to 1,800. In hospice services, payments nearly tripled while the number of hospices billing Medicare expanded from 460 to 1,356. Clark also reported that in 2025 alone, 310 home health agencies enrolled in Medicare in LA County.

Rep. John Joyce highlighted in a March hearing that California's Medicare hospice services were a target for fraud. A witness testified that 89 hospice companies are registered to a single address in Van Nuys. Tyler Sadwith, California's State Medicaid Director, testified in June that California has referred over 300 credible allegations of fraud to the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit over the past five years for hospice fraud investigation.

The Bottom Line

Alameda County's new lobbying registration disclosure positions the county to engage on healthcare fraud concerns and broader federal priorities. With experienced advocates on board, the county now has direct channels into Congress on multiple policy fronts.

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