Dr. Oz Visits the Buckeye State, Discusses Fraud Focus

Officials have long promoted a partnership between state and federal governments, and that came to fruition this week as Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, visited the Buckeye State.

While Ohio has seen updates at the state level on tackling childcare fraud, the issue of fraud remains a newsworthy priority for President Donald Trump’s administration, including for Medicaid.

On Tuesday, Oz appeared with Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to speak on the importance of the partnership between federal and state governments.

“We believe Ohio, as almost every state, can do a better job with the guardrails around home health care,” Oz said, adding praise for the work of the fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance.

When asked by News 5 Cleveland if he trusts DeWine, Oz answered in the affirmative. The appearance comes as DeWine has faced criticism for his handling of fraud as his second term comes to a close.

Signal Cleveland also quoted Dr. Oz praising initiatives that DeWine announced after The Daily Wire published investigative reporter Luke Rosiak’s findings on suspected Medicaid fraud in Columbus.

“Ohio jumped on it immediately, and the governor actually made it part of a platform for the state to take this issue seriously. I think the American people want to know their tax dollars are spent wisely,” Oz said.

Oz was also asked about Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s ideas, which included a plan for Ohio to work with the federal government to keep more money in fraud recovery, thus creating a larger stake for the governments to work together.

Although he called it a “very innovative idea,” Oz reminded audiences that DeWine is the current governor. DeWine said he’s “open to any kind of idea,” adding, “I thought it was a very intriguing idea.”

Ramaswamy and Oz also met while the latter was visiting Dublin, Ohio, for his preplanned trip at Hopewell Elementary School to promote the OhioSEE, a vision program for schoolchildren that the governor touted during his last State of the State address in March.

The talk of addressing fraud continued at the federal level as well. On Wednesday, members of the Trump administration, including Oz, met for a Cabinet meeting. Both Trump and Vance took time to speak about fraud and the Presidential Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

The vice president called both Oz and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “all stars” on handling Medicaid fraud.