Morning Wire Billions Missing: Dr. Oz Takes On California Healthcare Fraud | 2.7.26
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Feb 7, 2026 
Dr. Mehmet Oz, physician and CMS administrator, outlines a massive Medicare and Medicaid fraud probe. He describes a 1,500% hospice surge in L.A., how organized crime weaponized home health, and the federal push for corrective action and law enforcement referrals. Short, sharp breakdowns of scale, harm to seniors, and state accountability.
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Explosive Growth Suggests Systemic Abuse
- Medicare/Medicaid hospice and home-health billing exploded in California without a matching rise in need.
- Mehmet Oz says organized criminal networks weaponized hospice growth, draining funds and care from legitimate providers.
Fraud Spreads Like A Virus
- The pattern of hospice abuse spread from one region to others like a contagious problem.
- Mehmet Oz frames the spread as a 'weaponization' of criminal networks exploiting weak enforcement.
Local Fraud Has Nationwide Impact
- Fraud concentrated in one region diverts federal funds and harms legitimate providers nationwide.
- Mehmet Oz warns that other home-health systems lose resources when money is siphoned to fraudulent operators in L.A.