Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz announced Tuesday that Florida is under investigation for sweeping suspected abuse of Medicaid and Medicare.
Oz wrote a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, and other state officials informing them of the inquiry and asking authorities to turn over details about how they are targeting abuse in the health programs within 30 days, among other requests. Oz cited a national healthcare fraud crackdown last year that indicated extensive and costly illegal operations in Florida as a “clear indicator of the scale of fraud,” and expressed particular concern about “horrifying” schemes centered on “durable medical equipment” in the state.
“What I saw on the ground in Florida around durable medical equipment fraud was horrifying,” the CMS administrator wrote in a post to X. “The scale is out of control – and not just limited to these schemes. Cleaning this up will require a laser focus and real action from state leaders. The reality is that fraud in our government health programs is widespread, sophisticated, and deeply entrenched.”
The development appears to mark Florida as the first red state targeted by the CMS in the agency’s move to crack down on fraudulent activity in federal programs. Minnesota, California, Maine, and New York have emerged as the states Oz has focused on thus far.
Many states are also under investigation by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. The committee has written letters to officials in Minnesota, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington, as it probes whether local officials are sufficiently safeguarding state-administered Medicaid systems against fraud.
An investigation by the Washington Examiner previously found that dozens of states gave over $380 million in Medicaid funds to medical providers who were later caught defrauding the federally funded program. Arizona, Ohio, Nevada, Kentucky, and New York were the five worst offenders, with oversight officials in Phoenix outpacing only Columbus in $95 million in Medicaid checks cut to now-convicted fraudsters.
In Florida, officials have appeared amicable to working with the Trump administration to target fraud in government health programs.
“The Medicaid system is overwhelmed with fraud and abuse, and we look forward to working with Dr. Oz on these issues!” Uthmeier said, noting a recent instance where the state arrested a man accused of stealing Medicaid funds meant to provide transportation services for disabled children.
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DeSantis’s chief of staff, Jason Weida, said Florida is “working closely” with Oz to uncover criminal activity.
“We have zero tolerance for waste, fraud, and abuse — and we will aggressively deploy every resource necessary to root it out at any level in our state,” he said in a post to X.
