President Donald Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill Act one year ago, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told Scripps News the law has helped lower Medicaid costs and reduce fraud.
Oz claimed the Trump administration has prevented $42 billion in fraudulent health care spending.
Medicare and Medicaid have long been vulnerable to fraud, including issues such as double billing, upcoding and unbundling that can lead providers to overcharge the government.
While Democrats largely agree Medicare and Medicaid fraud should be addressed, they argue the Trump administration’s efforts are attempts to weaken programs intended to provide health care for low-income Americans.
Oz pushed back on that criticism, saying the bill strengthened federal health care programs such as Medicaid. He also acknowledged Medicaid enrollment increased among people he believes did not need the program.
“By putting better rules around Medicaid and making sure that money goes to the people who need it the most, we've brought a little bit of stability to that market, did the same thing for Obamacare, by the way, taking out some of the areas where there was a lot of fraud, waste and abuse. It was driving up costs,” Oz said.
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Estimates show more than $1 trillion was cut from federal health care spending as a result of the Big Beautiful Bill. Government figures suggest nearly 4.8 million Americans lost health care coverage through Medicaid following the bill’s passage, although the Trump administration contends those losses were tied to improper enrollment. Estimates also show 3 million fewer Americans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Oz said Medicaid was not intended to provide health care coverage for unemployed Americans who are able to work.
“That happened during Obamacare, and it's gotten worse over COVID, is tens of millions of people who are able-bodied and could work, they elected not to because it's just fine sitting at home watching 6.1 hours of television, which is the average, by the way, or hanging out,” Oz said.
He defended stricter work requirements, saying people should work, pursue education or volunteer for at least 20 hours a week to maintain benefits.
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Oz called the stricter work requirements “necessary.”