STAT+: CMS to ask every state for new audits of health care providers

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will ask states to create new plans to verify medical providers paid by federally funded health care programs as part of a broad effort to combat fraud in government programs, Mehmet Oz , the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said Tuesday. The administration will ask states to develop plans in the next month to revalidate providers in “high-risk” areas to determine whether they exist and have the right to provide services, Oz said at Politico’s health care summit.

The announcement is another step from the administration in its aggressive — and highly publicized — attacks on alleged waste, fraud, and abuse in federal health care programs. The administration has targeted certain programs and providers primarily in Democrat-led states such as Minnesota and California , though the administration’s claims have been disputed at times by state leaders.  Continue to STAT+ to read the full story...