{"id":196435,"date":"2026-03-18T14:56:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/196435\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T14:56:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:56:22","slug":"florida-targeted-in-expanding-federal-medicaid-fraud-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/196435\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida targeted in expanding federal Medicaid fraud probe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Medicaid Medicaid fraud investigation in Florida<\/a> <\/p>\n

Federal health officials have expanded their nationwide investigation into medical fraud. FOX 13’s Kellie Cowan shares how the Trump Administration is not setting their sights on Florida.<\/p>\n

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Federal health officials have expanded a nationwide investigation into Medicaid fraud \u2014 and Florida is now under scrutiny.<\/p>\n

The move makes Florida<\/a> the fifth state to face fallout as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to crack down on fraud and abuse in government health programs.<\/p>\n

What we know:<\/p>\n

Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), called the level of fraud in Florida is “horrifying.”<\/p>\n

In a post on X<\/a>, Oz described the state as a hotspot for health care fraud, alleging that bad actors have stolen “tens of billions of taxpayer dollars” intended for vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

He also shared a letter sent to Governor Ron DeSantis<\/a> and other state leaders, demanding information on how the state works to identify, prevent, and address Medicaid fraud.<\/p>\n

While similar probes have been announced in other states, Florida is the first Republican-led state to be publicly targeted in this latest round of investigations.<\/p>\n

Big picture view:<\/p>\n

The investigation highlights ongoing concerns about the scale of fraud within Medicaid and Medicare systems \u2014 particularly in high-population states like Florida.<\/p>\n

In a recent television appearance, Oz said the issue is widespread nationwide but singled out South Florida as a major problem area.<\/p>\n

“The number one fraud area for durable medical equipment is South Florida,” Oz said. “There are twice as many companies involved in durable medical equipment supplies than McDonald\u2019s there.”<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

READ: Sheriff Grady Judd blasts media reports that he criticizes federal mass deportation efforts: ‘Simply not true’<\/a><\/p>\n

He pointed to a newly announced six-month moratorium on certain durable medical equipment providers, including companies that supply items like wheelchairs and canes.<\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

Florida officials say they are already taking action and are open to working with federal authorities.<\/p>\n

Attorney General James Uthmeier cited a recent Medicaid fraud arrest involving transportation services for disabled children.<\/p>\n

“The Medicaid system is overwhelmed with fraud and abuse, and we look forward to working with Dr. Oz on these issues,” Uthmeier wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Governor Ron DeSantis\u2019 chief of staff Jason Weida also responded, saying the state has been coordinating with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

“We have zero tolerance for waste, fraud, and abuse \u2014 and we will aggressively deploy every resource necessary to root it out at any level in our state. Stay tuned.”<\/p>\n

The expanded investigation is part of a broader national crackdown on health care<\/a> fraud.<\/p>\n

Last summer, federal officials announced hundreds of arrests in a nationwide takedown, with nearly one in five defendants based in Florida.<\/p>\n

Oz’ letter gave state officials 30 days to respond to a list of detailed questions.<\/p>\n

What we don’t know:<\/p>\n

It remains unclear what specific actions will come next in Florida, including whether the investigation will lead to new enforcement measures, policy changes, or additional arrests.<\/p>\n

The Source: This article is based on statements from CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, social media posts from Florida officials, and prior federal reporting on nationwide health care fraud investigations.<\/p>\n

Florida<\/a>Ron DeSantis<\/a>Crime and Public Safety<\/a>Health Care<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Medicaid fraud investigation in Florida Federal health officials have expanded their nationwide investigation into medical fraud. FOX 13’s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[630,47,28,30,29,6584,115,992,412,628],"class_list":["post-196435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-crime-publicsafety","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-health-care","tag-news","tag-people","tag-ron-desantis","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}