Representative James Comer of Kentucky, chair of the House Oversight Committee, warned Wednesday that the federal government has nearly zero chance of recovering fraudulent Medicaid payments once they are distributed.
He emphasized that efforts should focus on preventing the money from leaving Treasury accounts initially. “You’ve got to stop the money before it goes out the door, because once it goes out the door, the federal government’s success rate at clawing back fraudulent payments is about zero,” Comer stated.
Comer defended the Trump administration’s decision to halt Medicaid payments to states including California and Minnesota, despite criticism from Democrats. “Trump has rightfully put a stop on a lot of Medicaid payments to states like Minnesota and California,” he said.
According to Comer, much of the stolen funds are rapidly moved beyond government control. “We’ll never claw that money back,” he added, noting that significant portions have been converted to cryptocurrency and sent to foreign countries.
Calling the fraud a coordinated scheme, Comer said, “This is a scheme by a lot of people to defraud the government, and finally we’ve got an administration that’s doing something about it.”
The Kentucky Republican also stated that the House Oversight Committee is advancing fraud prevention legislation because preventing improper payments is far more effective than attempting recovery after the fact. “The Democrats are screaming bloody murder” as the bills move through the House, Comer said, but insisted, “You’ve got to stop the money before it goes out the door.”
