Congresswoman Tenney Highlights Medicare Fraud Crisis During Ways and Means Hearing

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today spoke during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing focused on protecting patients and taxpayers by cracking down on Medicare fraud, highlighting the growing impact of large-scale fraud schemes on seniors and access to care in Upstate New York.

During the hearing, Rep. Tenney underscored her previous efforts to expose fraud, including a letter she sent last fall to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz raising concerns about suspicious billing activity, including one doctor who billed more than $600 million between 2020 and 2025. That outreach helped prompt enforcement action, but Tenney emphasized that isolated cases do not address a broader, systemic problem. She pointed to alarming trends in California, where more than 1,400 new home health agencies have entered Los Angeles County since 2020. Despite representing a small share of Medicare beneficiaries, the county now accounts for 12 percent of all Medicare home health spending, with payments per beneficiary nearly six times the national average. Rep. Tenney warned that this level of organized fraud is distorting Medicare payment data nationwide. She highlighted the consequences in rural Upstate New York, where home health admissions have dropped nearly 40 percent since 2018 and nearly half of referred patients never receive care, emphasizing how fraud is contributing to reduced access for vulnerable populations.

"When fraud takes over Medicare, patients are the ones who suffer," said Congresswoman Tenney. "What we are seeing is organized, large-scale abuse that is distorting payment systems and forcing legitimate providers to scale back or shut down. In places like my district in Upstate New York, seniors rely on home health care to remain independent, yet nearly half of those referred never receive it. When fraudulent activity is treated as normal in Medicare data, it drives harmful policy decisions that punish honest providers and leave patients behind. We must restore accountability, protect taxpayer dollars, and ensure seniors can access the care they need."

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