Dr. Mehmet Oz didn’t mince words on Newsmax’s platform when he warned that Medicaid abuse is not just a budget problem — it’s an assault on the most vulnerable among us. He reminded viewers that the program was created as a moral obligation to help children, seniors, and the disabled, and argued that those goals are betrayed when special interests and fraud siphon resources away from real need. Conservatives who want to protect the poor should stand with anyone who wants to stop waste and restore dignity to true beneficiaries.
The administrator made another uncomfortable but honest point: federal Medicaid spending is set to increase by roughly $200 billion under current proposals, a sum that demands strict oversight and accountability. We can and must invest in programs that work, but throwing more money at a broken system without sweeping reforms is how taxpayers get robbed and citizens get failed. Americans who pay the bills deserve a Medicaid system that helps those in genuine need, not a gravy train for lobbyists and insiders.
Oz has been blunt about where a lot of the blame lies: entrenched lobbyists, protected provider taxes, and billing games that enrich the well-connected while leaving rural hospitals and frontline caregivers out in the cold. He called out what many in Washington refuse to name — that some of these state-level funding gimmicks operate like legalized money laundering for the powerful and well-connected. If conservatives want smaller, smarter government, this is the fight: keep the safety net, but end the scam.
CMS under Oz is also tightening the rules to stop federal Medicaid dollars from being spent on those who aren’t legally entitled to them, and the agency has warned states it will increase oversight to close loopholes. This isn’t mean-spirited; it’s common-sense stewardship of taxpayer money so benefits go to Americans who earn or truly require them. Border security and fiscal responsibility go hand in hand when it comes to protecting the integrity of social programs.
Remember that Dr. Oz is now the confirmed administrator of CMS after the Senate vote on April 3, 2025, giving him the authority to pursue these reforms and root out fraud, waste, and abuse across Medicaid and Medicare. With that office comes a heavy responsibility to safeguard both the programs and the people they serve, and that responsibility must be exercised with transparency and muscle. Washington bureaucrats and coastal elites who profit from the status quo will scream, but patriotism means putting Americans first.
Patriots and hardworking Americans should applaud the principle of helping those who truly need help while demanding reforms that stop theft and restore program integrity. Support for work requirements, tougher eligibility checks, and ruthless enforcement of fraud laws are not cruelty — they are the tools of compassion that protect taxpayers and preserve these programs for future generations. If we love and cherish Medicaid as a nation, then we must clean it up, cut the corruption, and put every dollar where it belongs: in the hands of the vulnerable, not the hands of the connected.
