Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., warned Wednesday that the federal government has little chance of recovering fraudulent Medicaid payments once they are distributed, arguing the focus should be on preventing the money from leaving the Treasury in the first place.
Appearing on Newsmax's "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE," the House Oversight Committee chairman said, "You've got to stop the money before it goes out the door, because once it goes out the door, the success rate that the federal government has at clawing back fraudulent payments is about zero."
Comer defended the Trump administration's decision to halt some Medicaid payments to states including California and Minnesota, despite criticism from Democrats.
"Trump has rightfully put a stop on a lot of Medicaid payments to states like Minnesota and California," Comer said.
According to Comer, much of the stolen money is quickly moved beyond the government's reach.
"We'll never claw that money back, especially with so much of it being converted to crypto and so much of it going to foreign countries," he said.
Calling Medicaid fraud a coordinated effort, Comer added, "This is a scheme by a lot of people to defraud the government, and finally we've got an administration that's doing something about it."
The Kentucky Republican said the House Oversight Committee is advancing fraud prevention legislation because preventing improper payments is far more effective than attempting to recover them after the fact.
"The Democrats are screaming bloody murder" as the bills move through the House, Comer said, but insisted, "You've got to stop the money before it goes out the door."
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