(NewsNation) — The Trump administration is escalating its efforts to combat fraud in the health care system, a move officials say could reduce government waste and extend key programs.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said eliminating fraud could significantly strengthen the financial outlook of federal health programs.
“If we could just take the fraud out of Medicare, we would double the life expectancy of the Medicare Trust Fund,” Oz said during an appearance on NewsNation’s “Batya!”
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Oz estimated that as much as $100 billion has been lost to fraud across Medicare and Medicaid, pointing to hospice care as a major area of concern.
He said 800 hospices were recently suspended, a move the administration estimates will save taxpayers about $1.4 billion. Oz also said suspected fraud patterns identified in California have surfaced in states including Nevada, Arizona and Texas.
“The numbers in California — the idea that one‑third of all the hospices in the whole country are in one city — that’s impossible,” Oz said. “Clearly, there was fraud. The question is, why wasn’t it addressed?”
Oz said federal officials have implemented a nationwide moratorium on new hospices and home health care providers until oversight improves.
“We have passed a national moratorium — no new hospices and no new home health care until we can actually get our arms around this,” he said.
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Oz also raised concerns about international visa programs, including the Optional Practical Training program, which allows foreign students to work in the United States after graduation.
He said investigators identified thousands of participants linked to potential fraud and argued that visa holders, including those on J‑1 visas, should not be allowed to own or operate hospices.
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“That’s actually been happening,” Oz said. “That was one of the red flag items identified in California that we are taking action on.”
He added that irregular billing patterns can signal fraud.
“If you’re not ever seeing people pass in hospice, there’s fraud there,” Oz said.
Dr. Oz: Fraud crackdown happening no matter Left or Right states
Asked whether enforcement efforts were focused on Democratic‑led states, Oz said fraud exists nationwide and the administration is targeting cases across the country.
“The fact of the matter is we’ve been going after red states and blue states,” he said. “Fraud happens all over America.”
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Oz cited investigations in states such as Florida and New York as part of the broader crackdown.
“If you’re governor of a state, you’d think you’d want to shut down fraud,” Oz acknowledged. “But we’re seeing the opposite. We’re seeing that there’s not a serious effort to deal with these crises.”
“We don’t want federal dollars that are supposed to be used to help our most vulnerable citizens … we don’t want those dollars being siphoned off for other purposes that may purely be used for political reasons.”
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