Dr. Oz Says COVID Taught Fraudsters US Was Easy Target
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told Newsmax on Thursday that the COVID-19 pandemic emboldened criminals to target the U.S. government but said the Trump administration is now cracking down on the billions of dollars lost to healthcare fraud.
Appearing on “The Record With Greta Van Susteren,” Oz said rooting out fraud will not only protect American taxpayers but also strengthen Medicare and Medicaid by eliminating billions of dollars in waste and abuse.
His comments came after the Justice Department announced charges against 455 defendants in a nationwide healthcare fraud takedown involving more than $6.5 billion in alleged fraudulent claims over a two-week period.
“That’s for two weeks,” Oz said. “The two-week effort and all-of-government effort — again, by the White House Anti-Fraud Task Force — the number $6.5 billion is for two weeks of arrests.”
The pandemic era changed the calculus for criminals looking to steal taxpayer money, he said.
“COVID changed the entire equation. COVID taught a lot of gangsters and fraudsters that they could take advantage of the U.S. government, and we probably wouldn’t do anything about it,” Oz said.
“And in the prior administration, we didn’t.”
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