FIRST ON FOX: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz is taking Americans inside the Trump administration’s war on healthcare fraud in a new documentary highlighting massive Medicare schemes, suspected hospice scams and allegations of organized crime involvement.
The 27-minute film, “War on Fraud,” first obtained by Fox News Digital, follows Oz across the country as he spotlights alleged fraud schemes targeting taxpayer-funded health care programs and details the administration’s efforts to crack down on those responsible.
“All these programs come back to one basic issue: Fraudsters and criminals don’t give a s— about you. They want your money, and they will walk all over your health, sacrifice your life and betray society’s trust to get your hard-earned money,” said Oz in the video.
The documentary follows Oz across the country as he investigates suspected fraud involving Medicare, Medicaid, hospice care and other programs, with appearances from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Deputy Administrator Kim Brandt.
DR OZ SAYS 800 HOSPICE PROVIDERS SUSPENDED IN CALIFORNIA OVER ALLEGED $1B MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEME
Fox News Digital accompanied Oz Tuesday as he confronted workers at New York City senior day care centers suspected of questionable Medicaid billing practices during a sweeping federal fraud investigation.
More than 80 New York City providers received warning letters from CMS over questionable billing practices as part of a broader operation involving the FBI, HHS-OIG, NYPD and other agencies.
“FBI New York, along with multiple other law enforcement agencies are conducting law enforcement activity in the area of Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn and other locations around New York City in connection with ongoing federal investigations,” an FBI spokesperson said of the crackdown.
ON THE STREETS WITH DR OZ AS SURPRISE FRAUD CRACKDOWN SENDS DAYCARE DIRECTORS SCRAMBLING
Oz flagged what he described as a series of irregularities, including low attendance despite high Medicaid billing, questionable wheelchair transportation charges, seniors entering without signing in, inconsistent attendance claims and sign-in sheets containing future-dated entries.
The crackdown comes as CMS is pulling back the curtain on its broader war on fraud, releasing a new documentary that takes viewers inside the agency’s efforts to track down schemes siphoning taxpayer dollars from America’s healthcare programs.
In one segment of the film, Oz highlights hospice care as a hotbed for potential fraud, pointing to the Los Angeles area, where he says roughly 2,000 hospice providers operate, a concentration he argues has raised serious concerns about fraudulent billing.
FBI ADDS 2 FUGITIVES TO ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AMID HISTORIC $6.5B HEALTHCARE TAKEDOWN: PATEL
Oz claims in the documentary that Russian organized crime groups are involved in some suspected hospice fraud operations, alleging that unsuspecting patients are being enrolled in hospice care under false pretenses.
He claims the schemes involve falsely declaring patients terminally ill and misleading them into enrolling in hospice care, potentially limiting their access to treatment for conditions classified as terminal while allowing fraudulent operators to bill Medicare for services under false pretenses.
Minnesota has become a major focus of the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on government benefits fraud following a series of high-profile scandals involving taxpayer-funded programs.
VANCE-LED TASK FORCE CUTS OFF $1.4B FROM HOME HEALTH, HOSPICE PROVIDERS SUSPECTED OF FRAUD
Oz said Minnesota’s $250 million “Feeding Our Future” scandal helped intensify the administration’s focus on large-scale fraud, pointing to a case that erupted into the national spotlight in 2022 and has since produced a wave of federal convictions.
The White House Task Force on Fraud, led by Vice President JD Vance, has joined Oz in a media blitz highlighting alleged scams as the administration ramps up its crackdown on corruption in taxpayer-funded programs.
The documentary highlights one of the largest alleged Medicare fraud schemes in U.S. history, involving $3.7 billion in fraudulent billing claims tied to medical equipment companies operating in Delray Beach, Florida, according to federal prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors allege the scheme involved billing for medical equipment patients never requested or needed, and the accused ringleader fled the U.S. before being captured in Turkey and returned to South Florida to face federal charges.
FBI BRINGS BACK FUGITIVE ACCUSED IN $3.7B MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEME AFTER CAPTURE IN TURKEY
The documentary also shows Oz during an earlier visit to Flushing, Queens, where he describes a cluster of businesses — including a social adult daycare center, pharmacy and medical center — as a “clubhouse for crooks,” alleging the businesses are part of a fraudulent billing operation.
Oz says they recruit seniors, get them in, game the system and they use their ID numbers to charge everybody, “which means they are charging you.”
The documentary will be released Wednesday at 4 P.M. ET on Oz’s X account.
