Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz unveiled a nationwide initiative Tuesday to combat Medicaid fraud, requiring all 50 states to submit detailed plans within 30 days on revalidating providers in high-risk areas.

Speaking at POLITICO's Health Care Summit in Washington, Oz emphasized that the effort targets fraud across party lines. "We're asking the states to own that problem… red and blue, all of them," he said. States that fail to respond seriously face more aggressive federal audits.

The announcement escalates the Trump administration's ongoing campaign against waste, fraud and abuse in federal health programs. Oz described Medicaid as something he loves and wants to protect from defrauders. "When you love something, you protect it. You don’t let it get defrauded," he stated.

This follows targeted actions earlier this year. In February, CMS deferred $259.5 million in federal Medicaid funding to Minnesota over unsupported claims and immigration status issues, with potential for over $1 billion more if problems persist. The agency also imposed a six-month nationwide moratorium on new Medicare enrollments for durable medical equipment suppliers to curb fraud, after stopping $1.5 billion in suspected billing the previous year.

CMS has probed programs in states including New York, Florida, California and Maine. Federal officials arrested eight people this month in Southern California for alleged hospice fraud schemes, part of shutting down over 200 suspect operations. In Minnesota, CMS approved the state's corrective plan after initially withholding funds; Gov. Tim Walz welcomed the national push, noting his state already began revalidation.

The initiative builds on the CRUSH program launched in February, seeking stakeholder input on fraud prevention, alongside enhanced transparency on revoked providers. President Donald Trump highlighted the fraud fight in his State of the Union address, with Vice President J.D. Vance leading a new anti-fraud task force via executive order.

Democrats criticized the move as a pretext for broader cuts. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, speaking at the summit, said Americans reject labeling beneficiaries as fraudsters to justify reducing benefits. Past CMS claims, such as overstated New York enrollment figures, have fueled skepticism about the data.

Oz defended the efforts as essential to safeguarding programs like Medicare and Medicaid, calling them America's "crown jewels." The plan aims to ensure taxpayer dollars fund real care, amid Republican messaging on affordability ahead of midterms.