Dr Oz names 5 states in fraud crackdown as Trump administration targets Medicaid abuse
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz The Trump administration is focusing on five states as it ramps up its crackdown on fraud, waste and abuse, he told Fox News Digital.
“We wrote letters to Minnesota, California. Florida because we are concerned about durable medical equipment fraud…New York, Maine, and more are coming,” Oz told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview, adding that his concern extends to all 50 states.
Oz stepped up federal pressure on states to tighten anti-fraud enforcement in response to Minnesota’s estimated $250 million “Feeding Our Future” plan.
He said CMS left no stone unturned and also revealed foreign influence in the fraud scheme of programs such as Medicaid and nursing homes.
Read: Dr. Oz Whistleblowers All 50 Governors Over Billions of Dollars Lost to Medicaid Fraud
Vice President Vance and CMS Administrator Dr. Oz is fighting fraud in areas such as Medicaid, nursing homes and suppliers of durable medical equipment.
(Getty Images)
“We know that the Cuban government is involved in some of the problems in South Florida, where there is a supplier of durable medical equipment that sells twice as many wheelchairs and knee braces as McDonald’s,” Oz said.
Anti-fraud task force led by Vice President J.D. VanceIn February, it announced that suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) would be targeted through a nationwide moratorium.
“The vice president’s task force continues to work closely with Dr. Oz and CMS to track down and root out fraud,” a Vance spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The task force is committed to ensuring that American tax dollars are used for the benefit of the American people and will continue to do so successfully.”
Oz said he suspected multiple foreign governments were involved in fraud schemes targeting specific regions across the country.
“We have evidence that foreign nationals are definitely involved in these scams. Russian mafia presence in Los Angeles. There’s a Chinese mafia in Flushing Queens, for example. [New York]” said Oz.
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Four hundred nursing homes in Los Angeles have been suspended after officials cited an unusually high concentration of providers in the area.
Programs designed for people in the last six months of their lives had very high survival rates. In some cases, everyone survived.
Oz said he suspected multiple foreign governments were involved in fraud schemes targeting specific regions across the country.
“We also began to realize that there were some people who were probably not honorable physicians who were assigned to supervise patients in multiple nursing homes,” Oz said.
“Many hospitals were owned by foreigners, or they were able to cheat by keeping membership numbers low enough that they didn’t actually have to report their results.”
Oz said the California auditor notified the Governor. Gavin Newsom Evidence of hospice fraud in 2022.
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“The fact that we could suspend payments to more than 400 nursing homes in just a few weeks speaks to the fact that no one has been watching the coffers for the last few years,” Oz said.
“In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation placing a moratorium on new hospice licenses, a policy that remains in effect today, strengthening oversight of existing providers while preventing bad actors from entering the system,” a spokesperson for Newsom previously told the New York Post about hospice. fraud in government.
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Oz recently warned all 50 states and issued orders governors To identify and remove non-compliant Medicaid providers.
Oz in April gave governors and state Medicaid leaders 10 business days to tell CMS whether they would commit to rapid “revalidation” of high-risk Medicaid providers and submit a proposed timeline; It also introduced a separate 30-day window for a broader provider reverification strategy, increasing federal pressure on states to tighten anti-fraud enforcement.
“We can audit states that do not want to comply with the revalidation request,” Oz said.
“This is an important issue for Americans because states administer Medicaid, but federal taxpayers foot the bill,” Oz said.
“Let’s reaffirm, which means double-checking that everyone is providing services under Medicaid, especially for these high-risk services where those are things your family would normally do for you,” he said.
He drew attention to self-examples autism Services such as babysitters, non-emergency transportation to clinics, and transportation and delivery of groceries that may be excluded from Medicaid coverage, possibly exposing fraud.
“Like, what actually are the credentials that these people have that would enable them to do this? And so we asked that question to all the states, and now all 50 states are charging within 10 days of them letting us know if they want to work with us,” he said.
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Authorities suspect fraud costs Americans billions of dollars each year.
“This is an important issue for Americans because states administer Medicaid, but Federal taxpayer footed the bill” said Oz.
Original article source: Dr Oz names 5 states in fight against fraud as Trump administration targets Medicaid abuse
