Earlier this year, Americans were shocked and appalled by serious allegations of rampant fraud in Minnesota involving federal funding. House Republicans pledged to get to the bottom of this very serious breach of the public trust, and we are making progress in that fight. Every year, tens of billions of taxpayer dollars meant for seniors, patients, and families are stolen by criminals, fraudsters, and bad actors who have learned to game the system. As Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, rooting out that waste, fraud, and abuse is a responsibility I take very seriously on behalf of taxpayers. From Medicare hospice scams to fraudulent durable medical equipment providers to organ procurement organizations (OPOs) bilking taxpayers, I’ve spent the last year pulling back the curtain on what too many in Washington have ignored for far too long.

Medicare fraud alone costs taxpayers $60 billion every single year — nearly $900 per beneficiary that should be going toward patient care and lowering costs. I held a hearing earlier this year to expose the full scope, and what we found was jaw-dropping. In Los Angeles County alone, investigators found one building that was allegedly home to 89 different hospice operations. We found a burrito stand that was accredited as a hospice facility and collected taxpayer dollars. Let that sink in. In New York, fraudulent home health aides became the number one new job in the state — over 600,000 of them as of January 2026.

President Trump isn’t looking the other way either. His 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown saved taxpayers nearly $15 billion and charged more than 300 people with federal crimes. The administration shut down 450 fraudulent hospices in Los Angeles alone — and not one called to ask why their payments stopped, because they knew they were never legitimate. In February, Vice President Vance, Secretary Kennedy, and CMS Administrator Oz announced a sweeping new crackdown on Medicare and Medicaid fraud. They halted enrollment for certain suppliers, slapped a six-month moratorium on new hospice and home health providers, and launched the CRUSH initiative to catch fraud before payments ever go out the door. The administration has also deferred over $1.6 billion in Medicaid funding to California and Minnesota, states that turned a blind eye to fraud for far too long.

The fraud isn’t limited to Medicare alone. I requested a GAO investigation that found nearly 60,000 individuals were receiving subsidized Obamacare coverage despite the fact that they were dead. That’s why I fought to get the Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act across the finish line and signed into law — permanently allowing the Social Security Administration to share death records with the Treasury Department. In the first year since its passage, it has already prevented over $100 million in payments going to people who are no longer alive.

For over a year, my committee has been investigating organ procurement organizations, which are tax-exempt nonprofits funded largely by Medicare, meaning taxpayer dollars. What we have found is nothing short of alarming, including instances of OPO staff interfering with death determinations and proceeding with organ recovery from patients who had regained consciousness because otherwise, they would be unable to bill the taxpayer for it. Heather Knuckles, a constituent in southeast Missouri, watched her mother’s health collapse after receiving a cancer-ridden liver that should never have been transplanted. Her powerful testimony in front of Congress underscored how these OPOs were gaming the system and putting profits ahead of patient safety. As a result of my investigation, one OPO in Miami has already been shut down by the Trump Administration, and I will continue to hold bad actors in the OPO sector accountable.

We’ve made real progress, and we’re not letting up. This month alone, House Republicans passed 12 bills specifically aimed at combatting fraud and protecting taxpayer dollars. Every dollar stolen from Medicare is a dollar that doesn’t go to Missourians who have earned these benefits. Every fraudulent Obamacare enrollment is money that could be helping families in need. I will keep fighting until every federal health program serves the people it was built to serve, and not one penny more goes to those determined to game the system.