Both the president and the governor have devoted extensive resources towards rooting out fraud and cutting down on abuse of taxpayer dollars.
On Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance hosted Republican attorneys general at the White House for an event focused on the Trump Administration’s crackdown on fraud. Vance chairs the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
Incoming Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson was in attendance at the White House.
At the event, Vance said the effort has so far referred “over $22 billion in fraudulent small business loans back to the Treasury for collection,” deferred “more than $1.3 billion in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements” primarily from California and blocked “$60 million in student aid fraud.”
Vance also pointed to $6.3 billion in fraudulent government contracts that were mostly from former President Biden’s administration.
The Trump Administration has called on states to participate in anti-fraud enforcement.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine recently took steps to follow the administration’s call to eliminate fraud in the states.
This month, DeWine announced new initiatives against Medicaid fraud in Ohio. The initiatives are mainly focused on the state’s home healthcare industry and ongoing cases of fraud committed by home healthcare professionals.
“Ohio has long been a national leader in fighting Medicaid fraud,” DeWine said in a statement. “Today, we are ready to begin several new initiatives in development that will enhance this nation-leading work and further protect taxpayer funds from those trying to defraud the state.”
The plans include a statewide moratorium on new home healthcare and hospice businesses from being able to become Medicaid providers, removing and suspending payment to providers with potentially fraudulent billing practices, and an executive order that will allow the Ohio Department of Medicaid to require more frequent revalidation of providers being identified as higher-risk for committing fraud.
Legitimate home healthcare remains an important part of affordable care for citizens in Ohio.
“In 2024, Ohio saved more than $600 million in taxpayer funds that would have been expended had patients receiving home healthcare been diverted to skilled nursing or other residential services, saving several billion dollars over the course of the DeWine Administration,” said a release from Governor DeWine’s office.
The recently announced plans would root out fraud while preserving legitimate in-home care for those who rely on it.
The effort comes as the Trump Administration continues to prioritize cracking down on fraud and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are going towards their proper use.
