Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), pledged to lead a crackdown on hospice fraud this week.
The initiative aims to protect U.S. taxpayers and patients from fraudulent activities that deplete public funds and compromise individual health benefits. By targeting systemic abuse, the administration seeks to ensure that end-of-life care remains focused on patient needs rather than illegal profit.
During an appearance on the Fox News program “My View with Lara Trump,” Oz said the agency would take aggressive action against providers. This includes the decertification of any hospice providers found to be over-billing the government or stealing the identities of patients [1, 2].
Oz connected the financial crimes of fraudulent providers to a decline in the quality of care. He said that a lack of integrity in billing often reflects a lack of integrity in medical treatment. "If they steal the money, they'll steal your health," Oz said [1].
The administrator emphasized that the government would not tolerate the exploitation of vulnerable populations during their final stages of life. He said the crackdown is a matter of both fiscal responsibility and patient safety. "Do not steal from the American people," Oz said [1].
CMS oversight involves monitoring how federal funds are distributed to healthcare providers. Decertification is one of the most severe administrative penalties available, as it prevents a provider from billing Medicare or Medicaid for their services. This move would effectively shut down providers who engage in identity theft or systemic over-billing [1, 2].
“"If they steal the money, they'll steal your health."”
This crackdown signals a shift toward more aggressive enforcement within CMS, focusing on the intersection of financial fraud and patient safety. By linking identity theft and over-billing directly to a decline in health outcomes, the administration is positioning hospice fraud not just as a budgetary leak, but as a direct threat to patient care.
