The Republican-controlled House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent letters March 3 to ten states — California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington — requesting information on fraud, waste and abuse, as well as integrity efforts, in their Medicaid programs.
“These requests come amidst reports and law enforcement actions that have demonstrated high levels of Medicaid fraud across numerous states,” a news release from the House committee said. “It’s no secret that Medicaid fraud schemes have possibly cost the program billions of dollars annually across the country. These schemes contribute greatly to rising health care costs and strain our healthcare system, all at the expense of Medicaid beneficiaries and taxpayers.”
In addition, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, has been using social media to reach state leaders, most recently addressing New York. He sent Gov. Kathy Hochul his own letter requesting information, and he detailed his concerns with New York’s Medicaid program — such as the state’s spending and its use of personal care assistants — in a video posted to X on March 3.
“We owe New Yorkers transparency, we owe beneficiaries integrity and we owe the American people accountability,” he said.
In February, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who was also a focus for Dr. Oz on X, said his actions were a “political attack.”
President Donald Trump specifically called out California, Maine, Massachusetts and Minnesota in his Feb. 24 State of the Union and said Vice President J.D. Vance would lead the country’s “war on fraud.”
“We hate fraud — come in, J.D.,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office posted on X in January. “You’re welcome to personally inspect every couch and flip every cushion.”
In recent months, Minnesota has been the main target of fraud accusations, prompting CMS to freeze about $260 million in Medicaid funding to the state in February. The state has since filed a lawsuit against the federal government.
