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When President Trump’s pick for CMS, Dr. Mehmet Oz, stepped into the roiling swamp of Washington health care he promised action — and he’s already delivering blunt talk that should make every taxpayer sit up. Oz, who was confirmed to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services this spring, told Fox viewers his new CMS “war room” has flagged staggering abuses and warned that tens of billions in questionable spending are hiding in plain sight.
On-air Oz laid out jaw-dropping examples: duplicate enrollments, phantom payments that add up into the hundreds of millions, and what his team has identified as roughly a billion dollars tied to certain Medicaid program abuses — including money flowing through state programs that shouldn’t be federally billed. Those aren’t partisan talking points; they are specific red flags uncovered by the agency since the new administration demanded transparency and accountability.
Those revelations aren’t abstract. Federal investigators have launched reviews into Medicaid billing in multiple blue states after CMS raised alarms about payments for benefits that federal law does not cover for individuals without lawful status. California even self-reported roughly $500 million in erroneous federal billing, a stunning admission from a state that has championed broad coverage policies.
And for those who insist this is a political witch hunt, look at the numbers: California’s Medi‑Cal has projected multibillion-dollar costs tied to expansive coverage decisions for noncitizen populations — a budget strain that hardworking Americans end up footing through federal matching dollars and higher state taxes. If states want to extend benefits beyond federal law, that choice shouldn’t translate into a blank check from the rest of the country.
Patriotic taxpayers are rightly furious, and the response must be muscular. The Justice Department and federal partners have already run massive anti‑fraud operations recovering billions, proving fraud is real and that federal enforcement paired with CMS oversight can claw back stolen money and stop future leaks. This is about protecting seniors, children, and disabled Americans who depend on Medicaid, not coddling state-level policies that export costs nationwide.
Lawmakers who care about stewardship of the public purse should back Oz’s war room, demand expedited audits of suspect state claims, block any federal reimbursement for illegal‑immigrant benefits that violate the law, and tighten verification systems so every dollar is traced. If Washington won’t act, voters must hold them accountable at the ballot box — taxpayers deserve leaders who defend the safety net, not those who let it be exploited.
This fight is patriotic, practical, and perfectly conservative: enforce the law, secure the border, and protect American families from ruinous waste. Dr. Oz has put fraud, waste, and abuse on notice — now Congress and the states must join him in shutting off the spigot and reclaiming our hard‑earned dollars for the people they were meant to help.
