The Trump administration has been doubling down on its commitment to eradicate fraud—especially among social services providers. Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, says healthcare fraud could account for nearly half of all fraud across the federal government. He believes $100 billion has been stolen from Medicare and Medicaid programs, and that includes half of the hospices in Los Angeles. This week, Dr. Oz announced that 800 of those hospices have been suspended, saving taxpayers $1.4 billion.
Some of the fraud has been tied to Somali immigrants, as in Minnesota.
But one program seems to be producing fraudsters at an alarming rate: up to 10,000 were identified by the Fraud Task Force from the Optional Practical Training Program, a visa program that allows international students to work in the U.S. for up to 12 months. The program also allows students to transition to an H-1B visa.
Are there any plans for the Trump administration to scrap the program, given how much fraud it’s engendered?
Dr. Oz joined me to discuss. We also talked about why FDA chief Marty Makary stepped down, and his new initiative to simplify prior authorizations.
