{"id":591220,"date":"2026-04-24T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=591220"},"modified":"2026-04-24T17:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:05:00","slug":"dr-oz-demands-states-take-action-on-medicaid-fraud-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=591220","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Oz Demands States Take Action On Medicaid Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Oz Demands States Take Action On Medicaid Fraud<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

The head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) demanded that states across the nation take action to crack down on fraud in Medicaid,<\/strong> one of the federal government\u2019s health insurance programs.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, speaks during an interview with EpochTV\u2019s \u201cAmerican Thought Leaders\u201d in Washington on Jan. 16, 2026. Madalina Kilroy\/The Epoch Times<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

In letters to state Medicaid directors, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said they should develop and file with his agency a comprehensive strategy to ensure that Medicaid providers are legitimate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCorrupt individuals and organizations masquerading as health care providers are defrauding Medicaid, and American taxpayers, of billions of dollars each year, placing valuable resources out of reach for those the program was intended to serve: low-income senior citizens, children, and disabled individuals,\u201d Oz wrote.<\/p>\n

Oz had recently previewed the effort, saying<\/a> it would involve proving whether the providers \u201cactually exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Medicaid; I cannot say that more fervently,\u201d Oz said at a summit held by Politico. \u201cIf you love something, you protect it. You don\u2019t let it get defrauded. You don\u2019t let it get taken advantage of<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

If states do not take action, then audits may be an option, he said.<\/p>\n

CMS has been investigating Medicaid and Medicare, and officials have said they have identified billions in fraudulent or potentially fraudulent spending, leading to actions such as deferring<\/a> $259 million in payments to Minnesota. They have had to clarify some claims, including acknowledging<\/a> an error in calculations regarding New York.<\/p>\n

The new letters said CMS is acting under its responsibilities outlined in federal law, including the Social Security Act, and that CMS understands that states face challenges administering the complex Medicaid program. Oz said in the letters that CMS analyses are suggesting \u201ca persistent and growing Medicaid threat posed by sophisticated actors knowingly exploiting these complex systems for financial gains.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA foundational element of Medicaid program integrity is ensuring that only legitimate, qualified providers are enrolled and participating in the program<\/strong>,\u201d Oz said. \u201cConfirming that each state maintains accurate and regularly updated provider enrollment information is a critical foundation of CMS’ efforts to safeguard Medicaid program integrity, as it supports effective screening, monitoring, and oversight of participating providers.\u201d<\/p>\n

States were instructed to notify CMS of revalidation plans within 10 days and to follow up within 30 days with the strategy to make sure that providers are valid. It did not include any audit threats for noncompliance.<\/p>\n

CMS declined to comment on the letters.<\/p>\n

Oz added in a video statement that criminals are costing billions in taxpayer funds each year, and taking resources away from the needy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s the bottom line: It\u2019s time to make sure that providers of high-risk services are valid and meet all the requirements to deliver care to Medicaid beneficiaries,\u201d Oz said in the video.<\/p>\n

States have the ability to define which providers are high-risk, which might include providers without national identifiers, according to Oz.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the gaps that criminals, including foreign nationals, exploit,\u201d he said. \u201cRevalidation works. It forces accountability, it removes bad actors, and it sends a clear message that the Medicaid system is not an unguarded piggy bank.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nFri, 04\/24\/2026 – 13:05<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Oz Demands States Take Action On Medicaid Fraud Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) demanded that states across the nation take action to crack down on fraud in Medicaid, one of the federal government\u2019s health insurance programs. Dr. Mehmet… Continue reading Dr. Oz Demands States Take Action On Medicaid Fraud<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":591213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-591220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-empowerment","category-national-security","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=591220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/591213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=591220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=591220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=591220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}