Dr. Oz claims to have uncovered rampant health care fraud in California, declaring he’s found a whopping 42 hospices in just a four block radius.
Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, posted a video Tuesday cruising through Van Nuys, pointing to medical buildings plastered with Armenian writing and claiming they’re tied to a multibillion-dollar hospice and home-care fraud scheme.
“In this four block area in Los Angeles, there are 42 hospices,” Dr. Oz said, “So, either there are a lot of people dying here, or you got a fraudulent activity that is so good everyone wants to get in on it.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom blasted Dr. Mehmet Oz for cosplaying as a “fraud fighter,” and pushed back on his claims that Los Angeles County has become the “epicenter of health care fraud in America.”
“Amazing to watch Dr. Oz cosplay as a fraud fighter for an effort the STATE launched years ago — back when he was busy pitching ‘miracle’ horse supplements to insomniacs on late-night TV,” Newsom’s office said in a social media post Tuesday.
Dr. Oz announced earlier this month that the Trump administration was cracking down on health care fraud in California, claiming a network run by Russian and Armenia gangs is working with doctors to obtain medicare numbers and enroll patients into Hospice.
“They’ve got 100,000 patients who they’ve tricked or paid to give them their beneficiary numbers so they can perpetuate the fraud and then the criminals are just running the whole organization and quickly scurrying away when law enforcement does get around to prosecute them,” Dr. Oz said.
But since the initial announcement on Jan 9, the CMS Administrator has not revealed any new or specific cases that have stemmed from the investigation – only referring to fraud cases that have already been tried.
Newsom refuted claims of massive fraud, and underscored his decision in 2022 to ban all new hospices as well as revoke more than 280 licenses to combat fraud and abuse in the industry.
The California Governor and the former TV doctor have traded jabs in recent days.
On Wednesday, Newsom announced he is looking into reports that Dr. Oz was deliberately profiling Armenian-owned business.
“Our office is reviewing reports that Dr. Mehmet Oz targeted the Armenian American community in Southern California recently — making racially charged claims of fraud outside Armenian owned businesses, including a popular bakery,” Newsom’s press office wrote on X Wednesday morning.
The office appeared make an oblique suggestion that Oz’s Turkish heritage played a role in the facilities he pointed out as taking part in the emerging alleged fraud scheme.
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post Opinion
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!
California Post App: Download here!
Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!
“Given the historic sensitivities involved, we are taking these allegations seriously,” Newsom’s office said. “Any and all acts of hate have no place in California.”
Dr. Oz said crooks are cheating taxpayers to the tune of $3.5 billion in Hospice and Home Care fraud schemes, and vowed the Trump administration “is not going to tolerate this anymore.”
