Nicole Malliotakis Calls For Bipartisan Reforms To Curb 'Rampant Fraud And Abuse' In Medicaid

2 days ago

During remarks on the House floor, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) spoke about medicaid fraud and called for reforms.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise to highlight the rampant fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicaid

00:07that is draining American taxpayers and is hurting our most vulnerable seniors, disabled,

00:14and other Americans who rely on this program.

00:17Yesterday, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vaught, told us something

00:23shocking that one out of four Medicaid payments are improper payments. One out of every four.

00:32This echoes a 2024 report from the Biden Administration's Office of Management and Budget that designated

00:37Medicaid and Medicare as a high priority for susceptibility to fraud, waste, and abuse

00:42and improper payments and overpayments.

00:47In 2024, the Government Accountability Office released a report estimating over $100 billion

00:54in improper payments were made in the Medicare and Medicaid programs for the fiscal year 2023.

01:03We can read you some of these headlines that highlighted in the media. A CNBC report that

01:11detailed how Medicare and Medicaid programs are being brazenly targeted by sophisticated

01:16criminals to the tune of $100 billion a year. Lack of state oversight spurs Medicaid fraud,

01:23says Spectrum New York. Scammers ripped off New York's controversial Medicaid home care

01:29program to the tune of $68 million, New York Post. New York Times says staggering rise

01:37in catheter bills suggest Medicare scam. A Florida man indicted for Medicare wire fraud

01:45in a $97 million scheme. Medicaid programs suspended from two South Jersey nursing homes

01:52after being accused of taking $83 million from nursing homes funded by New York Medicare

01:57and Medicaid. Fiscal year 2023 proved to be a high value one for health care frauds and

02:06settlements with the DOJ totaling $2 billion in illicit activity. California Attorney General

02:13Chris Bonta announces indictment of Southern California health care provider for Medicaid

02:17fraud of nearly $60 million. CEO of digital health company arrested for $100 million adderall

02:25distribution and health care fraud scheme. New York doctor convicted of $24 million Medicaid

02:33fraud scheme. Attorney General Tish James announces convictions and sentences of five

02:39taxi company owners in Orange and Rensselaer counties for stealing millions in Medicaid.

02:45Florida telemarketer sentenced to 15 years in prison for $67 million in Medicare fraud

02:51scheme. Hill County doctor sentenced 10 years in prison for $26 million in restitution for

03:00Medicaid fraud scheme. I can go on and on reading headline after headline about the

03:07rampant fraud and abuse in this program that is actually taking away. That's what's hurting

03:15our vulnerable Americans who rely on this program. The fraudsters who are stealing the

03:21money. Now my governor Kathy Hochul lied to New Yorkers about what Republicans are really

03:27trying to do. Our real goal is to root out this wade fraud and abuse to protect benefits

03:35for our eligible recipients. And Kathy Hochul said it herself. In her own words, she pointed

03:43out how fraudulent the program is. In July 2024, the governor said the state's Medicaid

03:49consumer directed personal assistance program has, quote, become a racket, unquote, and

03:56said it is, quote, one of the most abused programs in the history of New York, unquote.

04:03But she said that the current trajectory of Medicaid spending is, quote, not sustainable,

04:09unquote. Other Democrats have pointed out the same things. Attorney General Garland,

04:15that was President Biden's attorney general, in a 2024 speech regarding health care fraud,

04:23he announced charges against 193 defendants for over $2.75 billion in false Medicare and

04:29Medicaid claims. And that was just one event. New York Attorney General Tish James, in

04:38a January 2025 speech, she said, quote, companies that illegally profit by exploiting Medicaid

04:45patients steal taxpayer money and undermine the health care system that all New Yorkers

04:50rely on. So to my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, let's work together to actually

04:58fix this. Let's work together to go after those fraudsters, to eliminate this abuse

05:04that we're seeing in the system, so we can preserve this very important program that

05:09our seniors, our disabled, our children with developmental disabilities, and vulnerable

05:16Americans rely on. Let's not play partisan politics with something that is so critically

05:22important to so many New Yorkers and Americans across the country. I yield back.

Nicole Malliotakis Calls For Bipartisan Reforms To Curb 'Rampant Fraud And Abuse' In Medicaid

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