Rep. Crank and Administrator Dr. Oz Host Roundtable on Combating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Within Healthcare Programs in Colorado

COLORADO SPRINGS, C.O. -- Today, Representative Jeff Crank (CO-05) and Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz held a roundtable with local leaders focused on combating waste, fraud, and abuse of federal health programs.

This roundtable comes after the announcement that Colorado was found to have overspent on Medicaid by $158 million last year and is projected to be $443 million over budget for the '26-'27 fiscal year.

"This Administration and Congressional Republicans have worked to combat waste, fraud, and abuse throughout federal health programs to ensure they are reserved for our nation's most vulnerable as they were intended," said Rep. Crank. "However, just this past year, the State of Colorado has mismanaged Medicaid funds, overspending by over $150 million and providing funding for illegal immigrants and transgender surgeries, and that is just unacceptable. I appreciate Administrator Dr. Oz coming to Colorado's Fifth Congressional District to learn more about healthcare in our community and how we can navigate the complexities of state policies that hamper our ability to combat waste, fraud, and abuse."

"Medicaid was created in a high-trust society, but that trust won't survive if we let fraud, waste, and abuse run rampant," said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. "I'm grateful to Rep. Crank and local health leaders for joining me to discuss how we can shut down scams, stop runaway spending, and protect essential health care for the vulnerable Americans who need it."

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