On February 25 at the White House, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Dr. Mehmet Oz announced new steps to crack down on fraud in Medicare and Medicaid to protect patients and taxpayers and improve affordability. The actions include:
- deferring $259.5 million of quarterly federal Medicaid funding in Minnesota to prevent payment of questionable claims while further investigation is completed;
- a nationwide moratorium on Medicare enrollment for certain Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers;
- a nationwide call to action for Americans to support fraud prevention through the Comprehensive Regulations to Uncover Suspicious Healthcare (CRUSH) initiative, including stakeholder input on how CMS can continue to expand and strengthen its efforts.
Together, these steps reflect a coordinated, data-driven strategy to prevent fraud before it occurs, hold bad actors accountable, and protect taxpayer dollars.