Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said President Trump told him to “love and cherish” Medicare, while focusing his efforts on cutting waste, fraud and abuse from the nation’s health programs.
“When Hubert Humphrey, a Democrat, said we have a moral obligation to take care of those in the dawn, the twilight and the shadows of life, he wasn’t talking about student loans or [diversity, equity and inclusion] programs,” Oz said in an interview on NewsNation’s “Cuomo” late Monday. “Let’s use the money that the American people have given us for the purpose that they’re trusting us and trusting us to use it for.”
“That’s what the president has told me over and over again: Trust and cherish Medicare and Medicaid,” he told host Chris Cuomo. “Don’t let unscrupulous people steal money from our most vulnerable. And I promise you, we’re going to be aggressive in enforcing those rules.”
Oz, a former Senate candidate who was sworn into lead CMS earlier this month, said the agency likely has $100 billion in waste, fraud and abuse.
“What Hubert Humphrey said was, it is the moral obligation of government to take care of those at the dawn of life — children — those in the twilight of their life — our seniors — and those in the shadows. Those are the most vulnerable. Those are the folks for whom Medicaid was originally designed,” he said Monday, adding, “And what we have to do — and this is not about politics, this is about patriotism — but we must make these programs strong to do just that.”
“And so, if you look from my perspective out there, you see massive amounts of fraud, waste and abuse,” he continued. “We have to enforce the rules to stop that.”
Trump has also promised in recent days that Medicare and Medicaid would not be cut, as his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) works to slash federal spending and overhaul the workforce.
“We’re not going to have any cuts. We’re going to have only help,” Trump said during Oz’s swearing-in ceremony, lauding the TV doctor as an administrator who will work “tirelessly to strengthen and protect” Medicare and Medicaid “just as I promised.”
Oz told Cuomo on Monday that he will crack down on fraudulent practices in Medicaid, funding directed to undocumented migrants and prevent people from “gaming the system,” pointing to misaligned intentions between state health programs and the CMS.
“They’ll actually charge more for Medicaid patients than people who are on commercial insurance. These are massive numbers,” he said. “Chris, when states can play games with their budget and then the federal government reimburses them for those games, you have inequality.”
“Some states, California and New York, are really good at it. Other states aren’t so good at it,” he added.
His comments came a day before Trump reached his first 100 days back in office. Since returning to the Oval Office, the administration has disbanded agencies, eliminated thousands of jobs — including in the health sector — and cut or clawed back billions of dollars for biomedical research.
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