Ohio Medicaid fraud crackdown highlighted by candidate and Dr. Oz

Gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy warned that Medicaid fraud is a major issue in Ohio, noting that improper payments have totalled about $1.1 trillion nationwide and that Ohio’s Medicaid costs have risen from $27 billion to $47 billion despite modest enrollment growth. He outlined a three‑part strategy to align federal and state incentives, simplify bureaucracy, and increase prosecution of fraudulent activity.

Dr. Oz drew attention to a separate home‑health fraud case in Columbus, where La Belle Home Healthcare’s owner was sentenced to three years in prison after the company received $5.7 million in Medicaid payments for services that were inflated or billed for deceased or ineligible patients. He said data‑mining showed that Franklin County alone accounts for more than a third of Ohio’s $1.5 billion home‑health budget, and that 288 Medicaid‑registered home‑health firms operate out of just seven office buildings. Governor Mike DeWine has asked federal officials to approve a six‑month statewide moratorium on new home‑health Medicaid providers.