The Minnesota fraud scandal has shaken the nation, but it is just the beginning. Now, the Trump administration is uncovering massive healthcare fraud in other states — including California.
President Trump’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Oz has stated that the Minnesota Somali fraud scheme pales in comparison to what he has uncovered in California. He estimates over $40 billion in fraud has been committed in Gavin Newsom’s state — and this figure represents only the hospice and home care sectors.
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice launched an investigation into medical fraud in California. Speaking at a press conference, Dr. Oz detailed how the scam operates. Billions of dollars in alleged fraudulent healthcare spending is being investigated in California, specifically targeting foreign nationals operating illegal hospice facilities.
“We have witnessed a sevenfold increase in hospice in LA County,” Dr. Oz told reporters during the press conference. “That doesn’t happen naturally.”
“There is not seven times more deaths in LA County than there were five years ago. These are fraudsters, and these do tend to be foreign influences — either Russian and Armenian gangs, mafia — that are leading a lot of these efforts,” he added.
Dr. Oz explained that fraudsters run facilities with approximately 100 bad doctors who convince patients they are dying to enroll them in hospice care. This has led about 100,000 people to hand over their Medicare numbers.
United States Attorney Bill Essayli stated the Trump administration is also cracking down on taxpayer money used for illegal immigrants’ elective procedures. “We’ve already identified about $1.3 billion of federal dollars spent to take care of illegal immigrants,” Dr. Oz said.
Essayli added that hundreds of billions flow through California’s healthcare system, with $10 billion allocated to illegal immigrant health care — a use of funds not permitted by federal law. The state is giving that money back.
Dr. Oz emphasized: “We are major focused on this issue, and I think our suspicion, our belief, is that the fraud in California will magnify whatever’s happening in Minnesota.”