Trump administration widens Medicaid fraud crackdown to Florida, calling
it a 'hotspot'
[March 18, 2026]
By ALI SWENSON
The Trump administration on Tuesday widened its efforts to stamp out
Medicaid fraud, at least in its fifth state this year, calling on
Florida officials to share information on how they identify, prevent,
and address bad actors in their state program.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz
had previously sent similar requests to New York, Minnesota, Maine and
California in what has been a growing, Trump administration-wide
initiative to crack down on fraud, waste and abuse.
The letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state leaders is the
first such request that Oz has announced to a Republican-led state as
the administration seeks to convey that fraud won’t be accepted
regardless of political leadership.
It comes a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to
create an anti-fraud task force across federal benefit programs led by
Vice President JD Vance. The president has ramped up such efforts as
many American voters say they're concerned about affordability ahead of
November’s elections.
Announcing the new probe on social media, Oz wrote that Florida “has
been a hotspot for health care fraud for years” and called on state
leaders to “step up and work with us to stop it.”
He referenced past examples of high-dollar fraud schemes in Florida’s
Medicare and Medicaid programs that resulted in criminal charges and
said that “given the widespread scale and nature of these schemes,” CMS
needed more details about the state’s program oversight.
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 Florida Attorney General James
Uthmeier responded to Oz's post on X and shared an example of a
recent Medicaid fraud arrest in the state.
“The Medicaid system is overwhelmed with fraud and abuse, and we
look forward to working with Dr. Oz on these issues,” he added.
Spokespeople for the other letter recipients,
including DeSantis and Florida Agency for Health Care Administration
officials, didn't immediately respond to emailed inquiries. Oz gave
the officials 30 days to respond to a list of detailed questions.
Last month, CMS halted Medicaid payments to Minnesota over fraud
concerns, a move the state’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz denounced as a
political attack. Oz said the money would be delivered only after
Minnesota implements “a comprehensive corrective action plan.”
CMS also has said it is blocking any new Medicare enrollments for
suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics or
other supplies used to treat chronic conditions or assist in injury
recovery for six months to mitigate suspected improper billing.
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