{"id":806665,"date":"2026-08-08T09:18:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/806665\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:18:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:18:14","slug":"dr-oz-says-california-unions-are-major-beneficiaries-of-medicaid-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/806665\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Oz says California unions are major beneficiaries of Medicaid fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"

CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz slammed California leadership<\/a> for ignoring rampant Medicaid fraud that has plagued the state, claiming powerful unions are the ones benefitting the most and keeping politicians at bay by flooding campaigns with cash.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the Trump administration has cracked down on the Golden State, deferring roughly $867 million<\/a> in Medicaid payments in California over fraud concerns, Oz questioned why Governor Gavin Newsom wasn\u2019t apply to identify the same problems with its healthcare system.\u00a0<\/p>\n

U.S. Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz claims unions are benefitting the most from health care fraud, providing no incentive for state leadership to crack down. REUTERS<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best way to answer that is to ask cui bono \u2014 who benefits? In this case, some of the biggest beneficiaries seem to be the powerful unions that dominate California\u2019s IHSS and the politicians whose campaigns they fund with tens of millions of dollars,\u201d Oz said in an op-ed<\/a> for The Post.<\/p>\n

Some of the largest labor unions include SEIU Local 2015, which represents more than 500,000 longterm care workers and United Domestic Workers (UDW), which accounts for more than 200,000 home care and child care providers in\u00a0California.<\/p>\n

Dr. Oz claims California\u2019s powerful unions are helping drive the Medicaid fraud scheme. REUTERS<\/p>\n

The CMS Administrator claims that there is no incentive to crackdown on fraud<\/a> because unions are able to increase their bottom-line if more people are able to bill Medicaid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese incentives create a vicious cycle: Lax program integrity standards mean more demand for caregivers, more caregivers mean more union dues, and more union dues mean more donations for the elected officials who are supposed to be guarding the cash register,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While joining a union is supposed to be completely optional, Oz accused some of California\u2019s most influential labor organizations<\/a> of forcing healthcare workers to join instead of offering a choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe believe California has not been doing that,\u201d he said. \u201cIn a recent labor complaint, one caregiver claimed that a union representative locked the doors at her orientation and told attendees \u201cno one is leaving\u201d until they\u2019d all signed a union membership card.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

The Department of Justice is investigating allegations of coercion, a senior law enforcement source told The Post.<\/p>\n

Other complaints include instances of forged signatures, dues taken before an agreement ever existed, and once case where a caregiver was charged dues for over a year, despite writing \u201cdo not wish to participate\u201d on her opt-in form.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The initiative to crack down on health care fraud is part of a broader effort led by the Department of Justice to target individuals who defraud the nation\u2019s health system. FBI Los Angeles<\/p>\n

\u201cThese First Amendment violations are not the reason for our deferrals, but they do help explain the emergence of an ecosystem in which state leadership has every incentive to keep the money flowing and no incentive to ask hard questions,\u201d Oz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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CMS did not respond when The Post asked what evidence it had identified of alleged coercion by unions or whether any related cases had been referred to the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n

Oz acknowledged that the alleged union coercion and First Amendment violations were not the basis for the Trump administration\u2019s decision to defer hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid payments.<\/p>\n

Ten Southern California defendants are charged with cheating public health plans, among other crimes, as part of a Health Care Fraud takedown. FBI Los Angeles<\/p>\n

\u201cThey do help explain the emergence of an ecosystem in which state leadership has every incentive to keep the money flowing and no incentive to ask hard questions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Post reached out to SEIU Local 2015 and UDW about the allegations but have not heard back.<\/p>\n

Newsom has denied allegations of widespread fraud in California, instead calling it \u201cpure politics.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe take fraud seriously. What\u2019s the point of theater?\u201d Newsom said back in July<\/a>, adding that his administration has been collaborating and providing information with federal authorities. <\/p>\n

In July, the Trump administration targeted California\u2019s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), a Medicaid-funded program that pays caregivers \u2014 often a family member \u2014 to help elderly and disabled residents at home instead of moving into a facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oz said California\u2019s spending for in-home services was \u201ctwice the rate of the average of the rest of the entire nation.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

It comes just two months after the administration decided to withhold\u00a0$1.3 billion in Medicaid funding<\/a>\u00a0from California in May over mounting concerns tied to the state\u2019s hospice and home-health agencies \u2014 bringing the current total over $2 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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