By The American Tribune | Created at 2026-09-25 10:16:15 | Updated at 2026-09-25 10:56:53
41 minutes ago
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz says President Donald Trump’s crackdown on health care fraud could give Medicare years of additional life while preserving the program for America’s seniors. Oz argued that removing fraud from the system could double the remaining life expectancy of the Medicare trust fund. His comments came as the administration announced the cancellation of unauthorized Obamacare coverage for more than 760,000 people. CMS estimates those cancellations will return roughly $2.2 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Oz made the remarks during an appearance on “Hannity,” where he discussed the Trump administration’s widening campaign against fraud, waste, and abuse throughout federal health care programs. The conversation followed a September 22nd announcement that CMS had canceled approximately 315,000 unauthorized Marketplace enrollments covering over 760,000 individuals. The agency is also targeting agents and brokers accused of submitting suspicious applications or enrolling people without proper authorization.
The Marketplace enforcement and Medicare fraud investigations involve different programs, but Oz presented them as parts of the same government-wide effort. CMS has combined data analysis, payment suspensions, enrollment reviews, and referrals to law enforcement to identify suspicious activity before more taxpayer money disappears. Oz told Hannity that those efforts directly affect whether Medicare remains dependable for Americans who spend their working years paying into the program.
“But on affordability, Sean, let me say this for everyone who’s out there working their tail off,” Oz said in the clip posted by his official CMS account. “If you want Medicare to be there for you, by taking the fraud out of the system, we will double the life expectancy of the Medicare trust fund.” He said the crackdown would protect the program for current workers rather than forcing them to wonder whether it will survive until their retirement.
“It’ll be there for you and your kids,” Oz continued. “Let us clean this up, support this effort, and you’re going to be able to rely on this beautiful safety-net program.” The 2026 Medicare Trustees Report currently projects that reserves in the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, which finances Medicare Part A, will be depleted in the second quarter of 2033 under the report’s intermediate assumptions.
CMS has already announced several major Medicare enforcement actions. In August, the agency reported stopping more than $1.6 billion in potentially improper laboratory payments and revoking 157 laboratory providers from Medicare. CMS also said it identified $1.8 billion in Medicare overpayments through medical review during 2026, collected $378 million through post-payment reviews, and suspended more than $539 million in suspected fraudulent payments.
Watch Oz explain the crackdown here:
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If you’re worried whether Medicare will be there for you in old age, we will double the life expectancy of the trust fund just by taking the fraud out of the system. pic.twitter.com/0ss7RLnDgZ
— Dr. Oz CMS (@DrOzCMS) September 23, 2026
Oz connected the enforcement campaign to restoring consequences for people who exploit programs intended for vulnerable Americans. “We’ll turn our society back the way it used to be—a high-trust society where the people who, you know, steal from the poor go to jail, like Cory did,” he said. His reference was to Cory Lloyd, who was convicted in an Affordable Care Act enrollment-fraud case and sentenced in February to 20 years in prison. Lloyd and co-defendant Steven Strong were also ordered to pay $180.6 million in restitution.
Oz said the Trump administration’s approach will reach beyond CMS when investigators uncover evidence of stolen government money. He explained that health care fraud can create additional tax exposure because criminals are unlikely to declare their illegal proceeds as income. “When you steal from Medicaid, I’m pretty sure you won’t pay your taxes,” Oz told Hannity. “You steal from the government on health care, the IRS is going to look at your taxes. Did you actually pay taxes on the money you stole? I doubt it.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.
