Chair urges federal action as subcommittee examines Medicare and Medicaid fraud

The chair opened a subcommittee hearing titled “Protecting Patients and Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars: The Role of CMS in Combating Medicare and Medicaid Fraud,” saying the subcommittee will continue its ongoing examination of fraud in federal health programs. The chair named sectors he said are experiencing high rates of fraud — durable medical equipment, genetic testing, skin substitutes, home health and hospice — and noted schemes also touch non‑emergency medical transportation, personal care services and substance use disorder treatment.

Why it matters: The chair said the misconduct targets vulnerable people and diverts taxpayer dollars from beneficiaries, and he urged stronger federal oversight. "These crimes are despicable," the chair said, adding that fraudsters often move from one scheme to another and that the "tentacles" of these criminal schemes reach into many areas of health care.

The chair cited a statement by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro from his time as attorney general, saying Shapiro said "it's possible, no likely, that Pennsylvania is losing $3 billion a year to fraud," a figure the chair used to emphasize scale. The chair argued that weak state guardrails make Medicaid programs easy targets and said federal oversight is necessary to root out systemic fraud.

The chair also referenced recent executive‑branch steps, saying the administration has established an anti‑fraud task force and named leaders involved in the effort. He thanked Deputy Administrator Kim Brandt of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for appearing and said the committee looks forward to hearing about the work CMS is doing to address fraud and preserve program integrity.

The hearing was expected to continue with testimony from Deputy Administrator Kim Brandt, who the chair introduced as the CMS witness for the panel.