CMS Mandates State Plans for Medicaid Provider Checks

Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, announced Tuesday that the Trump administration will require all 50 states to submit plans within 30 days for revalidating health care providers participating in Medicaid programs, expanding a federal anti-fraud initiative nationwide.

Speaking at Politico's Health Care Summit in Washington, D.C., Oz said the agency would issue formal requests to states this week. The plans must outline how states will verify providers in high-risk areas, ensuring enrollees exist and services are legitimate. "We're asking the states to own that problem, red and blue, all of them," Oz stated. He added that failure to comply seriously could prompt more aggressive federal audits. Oz emphasized the effort's goal of protecting the program, which serves about 70 million low-income Americans and covers services like home health care, nursing homes and hospice. "I love Medicaid," he said. "When you love something, you protect it. You don't let it get defrauded."

The announcement builds on the administration's broader campaign against waste, fraud and abuse in federal health programs. President Donald Trump tasked Vice...