Newsletters
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday said his office filed a civil rights complaint against Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, accusing him of making “baseless and racist allegations” against Armenian Americans in Los Angeles.
“My office is filing a civil rights complaint seeking an investigation into Dr. Oz’s baseless and racist allegations against Armenian Americans in California,” Newsom said in a post on the social media platform X.
The complaint follows a video posted by Oz showing him being driven through the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles, where he claimed that about $3.5 billion in Medicare fraud has been carried out by hospice and home care businesses.
In the video, Oz said that “quite a bit” of the alleged fraud is run by what he described as the “Russian-Armenian mafia.”
Oz later said California has recorded $3.5 billion in medical fraud, attributing much of the increase to foreign criminal influence, particularly Russian or Armenian individuals linked to organized crime.
“L.A. County has become an epicenter for health care fraud in America,” Oz said Tuesday on X. “Criminals have corrupted the system so much that fraud is now almost expected.”
He pointed to a rapid increase in care facilities, suggesting fraud was driving the growth.
Oz accused foreign criminals of corrupting doctors and defrauding California’s medical system by enrolling ineligible patients in hospice care and billing for services not provided. He said the scale of fraud in California far exceeds that of Minnesota.
Oz said he instructed Newsom to submit a comprehensive program integrity action plan within three weeks to address what he described as major fraud in California’s health care system.
He cited rising in-home services spending from $8 billion to $28 billion, a 21% increase in home health costs in 2024, Los Angeles overspending $1.4 billion, and a 1,500% increase in hospice agencies in the county since 2010, with many reporting what he described as implausible survival rates.
“I’m hearing horror stories from seniors duped by these fraudsters because California is not stopping these criminals,” Oz said. “Governor Newsom, the clock is ticking on the deadline for your comprehensive program integrity action plan. Start saving American lives instead of enabling criminals.”
Newsom’s press office responded sharply, saying Oz was misrepresenting the state’s efforts.
“Amazing to watch Dr. Oz cosplay as a fraud fighter for an effort the STATE launched years ago, back when he was busy pitching ‘miracle’ horse supplements to insomniacs on late-night TV,” the statement said.
The office added that California banned new hospice licenses beginning in 2022 and has revoked more than 280 licenses.
Oz later replied, saying Californians deserve more than what he called a defensive response.
“Californians deserve more than this defensive acknowledgment that you’ve known about the rampant fraud in your state for years but haven’t done much about it,” Oz said, adding that he could help get California “back on track.”
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
