Trump administration admits to using skewed statistics in New York Medicaid probe

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, justified his fraud investigation into New York’s Medicaid by using inaccurate data.

The Trump administration acknowledged to The Associated Press that it made the error, the outlet reported Friday.

Dr. Oz announced the fraud probe last month via social media, in which he misidentified New York’s approach to billing code applications.

He claimed that the state’s Medicaid program provided roughly 5 million people with personal care services last year, a large majority of New York’s 6.8 million Medicaid enrollees. 

It turns out that those who utilized such services last year were between 6% and 7% of total enrollees, translating to about 450,000, CMS spokesman Christopher Krepich told AP this week.

“CMS is committed to ensuring its analyses fully reflect state-specific billing practices and will continue to work closely with New York to validate data and strengthen program integrity oversight,” he said in a statement.

The agency has since refined its methodology, Mr. Krepich said, to continue the probe.

Dr. Oz’s twisted statistics were a “targeted attempt to obscure the facts,” said Cadence Acquaviva, senior public information officer for the New York Department of Health.

“New York state remains committed to protecting and preserving vital Medicaid programs that deliver high-quality services to New Yorkers who depend on them,” she told AP.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said the initial claim was “patently false, and we are glad they now admit it.”

“Governor Hochul has been clear that New York has zero tolerance for waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid, or any other state programs, and will continue her efforts to root out bad actors, protect taxpayer dollars and safeguard the critical programs that New Yorkers rely on,” spokeswoman Nicolette Simmonds said.

The White House has declared “war on fraud,” with President Trump appointing Vice President J.D. Vance as the fraud czar to lead a task force to stamp out the misuse of public funds and tackle waste.