Minnesota’s welfare schemes exposed the scale of taxpayer fraud, California’s hospice scandal showed the problem was not isolated, and now Ohio’s Medicaid problem reveals how deep fraud may run.
During my appearance Monday on Fox News with Jon Scott, I argued that the fraud uncovered so far in several states is only the tip of the iceberg. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Signal, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said that fraud could account for as much as 22% of benefits spending, with nationwide losses estimated at $187 billion annually.
For decades, state governments were reactive to this problem instead of proactive, treating fraud as a problem to address after they doled out taxpayer dollars. Prosecutors were forced to chase the money after it was siphoned off and transferred to foreign countries, or gone to pay for luxury homes, cars, and vacations.
Only a proactive approach will counter fraud successfully. The way to deter fraud is to detect it before any check goes out the door.
Ohio is now ground zero for another massive scandal as we search for billions of alleged taxpayer fraud, but it is also a gold standard for a better approach to the problem, thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and the newly created Fraud Prevention and Detection Center at the Justice Department, led by Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald. The center is laser-focused on detecting fraud before it expands by using data analytics and shared information to identify billing spikes, shell companies, shared addresses, and other signs of fraud.
Ohio officials have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Justice Department, providing full access to corporate registration records for investigators. That is a critical step, as fraud schemes do not always operate through a single company but involve multiple entities with suspicious billing patterns and layers of paperwork designed to make the money harder to trace.
I visited hundreds of home health care businesses in Ohio and saw suspicious circumstances, including empty buildings and individuals who did not speak English. I had serious questions about the recipients of public funding. Taxpayers deserve to know where their money is going before it is doled out.
The Trump administration is leading the charge to detect fraud earlier, share information, and follow the money, which requires political will to use the systems we have in place to protect taxpayers. No state, including red states, should receive a pass simply because officials would rather point to scandals elsewhere.
Ohio’s decision to share its corporate data with federal investigators is a landmark moment for protecting taxpayers. Every state should follow Ohio’s lead by entering a partnership with the National Fraud Task Enforcement Center.
Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars should not fund fraudsters’ luxury lifestyles. It is time to Audit America.
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