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DeWine defends Ohio’s anti‑fraud work in Medicaid as lawmakers, rivals raise concerns
Summary
After criticism from political rivals and legislative leaders about suspected Medicaid payouts to home‑health providers, Governor DeWine said Ohio leads in fraud prosecutions, defended home‑based care as cost‑effective, and described anti‑fraud tools including GPS verification and a veto of language that would limit enforcement.
At a Columbus Metropolitan Club forum, Governor Mike DeWine defended Ohio’s record on Medicaid fraud investigations and described recent steps the state is using to verify home‑health services after public scrutiny.
In a line of questioning about conservative claims that "billions of dollars" went to suspect home‑health providers, Joe Engles noted that the criticism targeted DeWine’s former Medicaid director and state leaders. DeWine responded: "We all have the same goal… and that is to catch fraud." He said the state prosecutes fraud aggressively, citing roughly "2,200 in the last 15 years" as a measure of convictions and enforcement activity.
DeWine defended programs that prioritize home‑based care over nursing‑home placement, saying home care is often "the cheapest place" to serve people who need assistance. He added that Ohio uses technology — GPS tracking and electronic sign‑ins — to confirm that providers visit the billed address. "Are they… actually delivering the service at the address at which the bill is originating?" he asked, then described the state’s ability to locate and verify visits.
He also said he vetoed legislation that, in his view, would have removed effective fraud‑fighting tools. DeWine described coordination with federal officials to secure funding and technical support for fraud prevention and rural health programs.
The governor did not provide new allegations of wrongdoing or a list of affected providers during the forum; instead, he focused on describing enforcement tools and existing convictions. Audience members and rival candidates have raised public concern about oversight; DeWine urged continued cooperation among the governor’s office, the auditor and the attorney general to pursue fraud tips.
The account in the forum is based on the governor’s remarks and does not substitute for independent verification of any specific cases or the dollar amounts alleged by outside critics.
