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Gavin Newsom Pushes Back on Dr. Oz’s Medicare Fraud Claims

by in Daily Edition | June 24, 2026 2 min read

Mehmet Oz

Dr. Mehmet Oz (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley) The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

President Trump’s Administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, said at a press conference this week: “In the first quarter of last year, we revoked billing privileges for fraudsters — of 1,006 providers.” He added, “This same period this year, we made 1,400 revocations. That’s a 40% increase over last year.”

Oz added: “We also have patient payment suspensions where we just don’t pay the bill because we don’t think it’s legitimate. And during the first half of this year, we made 1,000 Medicare payment suspensions. Nearly 800 from one state: California.”

Governor Newsom’s Press Office replied: “Once again, it appears MAGA needs a refresher on who oversees the Medicare program: The Trump Administration. California oversees Medicaid, where the state has fought fraud for years! Take a look: http://StopFraud.CA.Gov P.S. The federal announcement today included cases filed by THE STATE as well as cases filed by the federal government.”

[NOTE: Medicare is a federal health insurance program; Medicaid is a joint federal and state program.]

Newsom also asserted that the “California Attorney General is part of the team holding these people accountable.” In a press release concerning the arrest of several people allegedly involved in a massive health care and hospice fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office (Central District of California) acknowledged cross-departmental cooperation, saying the “takedown represents a new era in federal, state, and international cooperation to combat health care fraud: cases in 56 federal districts and 45 U.S. states and territories.”