Latest / Your Leo Nation / Healthcare Fraud: The Massive Scandal Hiding In Plain Sight
Transcript
- Mark Garrett: Everywhere we look, we find fraud. Hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars taken from our pockets by criminals every year. For that reason, President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Acting Attorney General Blanche have rightly activated the DOJ and our fraud fighting partners to combat this fraud epidemic head on. Because no one should be able to rip off the United States of America. And get away with it. One hundred percent. Look, it's not a brand new story, but it's a brand new example. So you have the assistant attorney general ⁓ in Pennsylvania this time, ⁓ naming charges against a number of individuals who are ripping off the taxpayers through fraudulent health care claims. Like I said, it's not a new story. But it's not a new example. And this is not even the tip of the iceberg. It gets far worse. Here's a little more information from the Assistant Attorney General. Take a listen. But infiltrated by greedy and deceitful opportunists, this program. becomes a money tree, a gravy train for criminal fraudsters. The cases today make that abundantly clear. They are not paperwork heirs or good faith accounting heirs. They involved involve supposed home health aides who billed the taxpayer for home care services, but never actually provided those services, and supposed Medicaid patients who conspired with other fraudsters to bill the taxpayer For completely unnecessary health services. In one case, we charged two home health aides and two purported patients with causing over 400,000 in false claims to Medicaid for services the AID supposedly performed when get this, they were actually hospitalized, working at other jobs, and even in jail. Yes, the allegations include a scheme that billed taxpayers for home care services provider provided when the person supposedly doing that work was sitting behind bars. I want you to take that in just for one second, and this is going to lead to the next part of this episode. This is the lack of oversight that this state and other states exhibits when it comes to Being a good steward of federal and state taxpayer money. Take a listen to Dr. Oz as he lays out a few more details. Last six years. In fact, across the board, if you look at fraud and healthcare, all gone up in the last six six years. What happened in 2020 that has catalyzed this? What has allowed this corruption to be weaponized? It's COVID. COVID appears to have unleashed massive fraud through grifters. Because criminals knew the federal government would not follow up on the money that was spending out. We we told the world we were open for fraud and they could start harpooning us with their spears. Nomas, no more. We are now making it very clear this administration will not tolerate this fraud, the massive increases that have grown ⁓ to the kinds of numbers you could not imagine being able to show on a clipboard with ninety percent of services billed and paid for in Maine in particular, where there is no justifiable backup for nine out of ten services. You can't justify they should have happened. It's the opposite of what you'd normally expect. We have no tolerance for anyone who invents ours, invents a disability, invents a workforce at the expense of people who depend on these programs. And if you love these most vulnerable Americans, you should care as well. You certainly should care. All of us should care, because this is an attack on the rule of law. As I said, this lays out clearly the individuals. Who are frauds, who are criminals, who are attacking the vulnerability of the system. But there is a much bigger component to this fraud. And that is the almost complete lack of oversight at the state level, at the individual state level. And I'm sure it was just a coincidence. But as this press conference had happened today, we also had Senate hearings on Medicaid fraud. Take a listen to the brilliant Senator John Kennedy as he interviews a couple of witnesses today regarding Medicaid fraud. One of those witnesses is a PhD by the name of Brian Blaze. He's the president of the Paragon Health Institute. Check this out. It was an education for me. I'm sure it will be. For most of you as well. For those folks in traditional Medicaid. For every one dollar that this is an average, for for every one dollar that that ⁓ a state puts up, the federal government puts up one dollar and thirty-three cents. Does that sound about right? That's ⁓ average across the country, Senator. All right. Now President Obama, through Obamacare, extended Medicaid to able-bodied working adults. Is that correct? Correct. And the on average, the federal government for those ⁓ I'll call them Obamacare Medicaid Expansion Enrollees. This for every one dollar that the state puts up, the federal government puts up nine dollars. Is that correct? That's correct. Okay. So if you're a governor, ⁓ for for for for di traditional Medicaid, you can get a buck thirty three. For Obamacare expansion enrollees, you can get nine dollars. That's the math that they face. Right. Now, if you're a governor, you're going to try to get as many people on on Medicaid through Obamacare expansion, are you not? That is the incentive that states have Obamacare. There are definitely some states that have a massive problem of improper enrollment. So people who would be Do some do do some states cheat? Yes. Okay. Many states cheat. No, they don't. Some of them cheat, don't they? Many of them cheat. Right. Do some states just accept people's word that they make a certain amount of money and therefore qualify for Medicaid? Yes, Senator. Do all Well here's where John Kennedy digs down on this about the actual culpability. And involvement in the fraud by the respective state governments. Do all states say, listen, we hear you and we're not saying you're lying, but we're gonna cross check ⁓ your application with our state income tax records. Do all states do that? ⁓ not all states do that. Okay. If they did, they would find out that some people are lying, wouldn't they? They would. Now, what's your best guess as to how much per year ⁓ this this cheating costs the the the Federal taxpayer? We released a report on this yesterday, Senator, and estimated that it's thirty-three billion dollars. It was thirty-three billion dollars in twenty twenty. Now thirty-three billion dollars, that initial case I showed you the press conference today at Pennsylvania with the Medicaid fraud there. That was about four million dollars. ⁓ these dozen or so suspects were arrested, maybe more than that, but whatever it was, these individuals, about four million dollars that they are charged ⁓ and with stealing from the government, federal and state government, ⁓ federal specifically in that case. Now we're talking about thirty-three billion dollars across the states for all Medicaid fraud, but that's just Medicaid specifically. Just Medicaid. There's all types of federal healthcare fraud that take place. This is one silo we're talking about. But even this one silo is thirty-three billion dollars in this PhD's estimate. Absolutely staggering. And again, that's just one of the many silos we're talking about. He made it clear that the states, the bureaucrats, elected officials, maybe some governors, specifically and with clear purpose to fraud the federal government. Now I said he was only one of a few witnesses that Kennedy interviewed today, a question today. I want you to hear from this gentleman. Let me check. Andy Snyder, public policy professor at Georgetown University. Take a listen, folks. ⁓ sir, on the end, I'm sorry I can't read your name. Sir, I'm sorry. Don't you think we've ought to put people in jail for cheating? Senator I do not believe states are cheating. You don't believe that cheating I do not believe that. If they were cheating, what planet did you just parachute in from? Sure. Sir. You don't work on this. I've worked on this program for a long time. But I'm to be sure I understand you don't believe that I just gotta stop for a second. This is a short clip. I do not believe that states are cheating. You heard it correctly. We continue. You don't believe states are cheating. I do not believe states are cheating. Do you believe in the tooth fair? Sure. Do you believe in the Easter bunny? Do you believe that Jimmy Hoffa died of natural causes? You're not answering. I do not believe states are cheating in their administration of the Medicaid program. Okay. See, ladies and gentlemen, this is what we're dealing with. We're dealing with people for whatever reason. They're psychotic, they're so politically entrenched with their side. They don't want any political detriment to come to them. I don't know whatever it is, but we're dealing with people. Who apparently believe the lie that states don't cheat, or counties don't cheat, or cities don't cheat, bureaucrats don't cheat. What this man is saying, that professor from Georgetown University is that everybody's perfect. Apparently, they're no criminals either in state or county or federal prison. This is what we're dealing with when it comes to the rule of law. That man could not even say, you know what, there certainly is malfeasance, lack of oversight, inefficiency, clerical. He could not say anything to the detriment of state governments when it comes to their culpability in the theft of hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money. When it comes to health care services, this is what we're dealing with. It is a psychosis. For your allel nation, I am the chief Mark Garrett, where we certainly do believe in the rule of law, unlike the man who believes in the tooth theory. Take care, we'll see you next time. God bless you. God bless America.