Oz zeroes in on New York’s Medicaid program

New York could be the next state to face the Justice Department’s legal fury over rampant fraud, “Seen, Heard & Whispered” has learned.

Julian Hagmann, the chief operating officer at Caring Professionals Inc., said he expects federal lawyers to soon file a complaint challenging the state’s deal with a single firm to oversee the state’s home care program under Medicaid.

“It’s massive Medicaid fraud,” Mr. Hagmann, whose firm offers home care aides in New York, told “Seen, Heard & Whispered.”

He’s been a prominent critic of the state’s new setup, which saw Gov. Kathy Hochul move from paying hundreds of home care firms to the single company, Public Partnerships LLC.

Newly released emails suggest Ms. Hochul’s office was working with PPL weeks before the state Legislature authorized the solicitation of bids. The governor’s office and the firm previously denied any concrete conversations took place.

Spokespeople from PPL and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Specifically, the forthcoming DOJ lawsuit is said to allege three causes of action against Public Partnerships LLC: consumer protection, Medicaid fraud and procurement fraud.

In his State of the Union address last month, Mr. Trump declared a “war on fraud.”

Minnesota was the first to face pain, with Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, saying he’s halting more than $250 million in Medicaid reimbursement payments to the state until it comes up with an anti-fraud plan.

Dr. Oz said this week that he’s probing New York’s $124 billion Medicaid program. He gave the state 30 days to detail its fraud-fighting efforts.

He said the state is spending more than $12,000 per Medicaid beneficiary, which is 36% higher than the national average.

“The numbers coming out of New York’s Medicaid program don’t add up,” he said in a video announcing the review.