CMS Administrator Oz Joins Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado’s 8th District to Discuss State Medicaid Fraud and to Tour UNC's New College of Osteopathic Medicine

GREELEY Colo.- Today, Congressman Gabe Evans welcomed Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Dr. Mehmet Oz to the Eighth Congressional District. The visit consisted of a roundtable with Northern Colorado healthcare leaders to discuss a variety of topics such as the implementation of H.R.1 and recent trends of waste, fraud, and abuse in the State's Medicaid system and a tour of the new College of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of Northern Colorado.

This timely visit comes after CMS recently granted $169 million in Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) funding awarded to 91 grantees to expand healthcare access and strengthen rural health systems across Colorado. It also comes after Colorado's State Medicaid program has been in the headlines for its budget crisis, being $158 million over budget in the 25-26 cycle, and is projected to be $443 million overspent for '26-'27.

"I'm grateful to Administrator Oz for visiting Colorado's Eighth district to sit down with the doctors, hospitals, health care providers, and local leaders who serve our communities every day. Medicaid is a lifeline for our most vulnerable neighbors, and protecting the program means making sure every taxpayer dollar is spent responsibly and reaches the people who truly need it.

Colorado's Medicaid program was nearly $158 million over budget last year and is now projected to be roughly $443 million over budget this year and has seen over $100 million dollars in verified fraud. That is not sustainable.

As Congress works to strengthen Medicaid, we need strong partnership from CMS, accountability at every level of government, and a serious commitment to rooting out waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. I look forward to working with Administrator Oz to protect taxpayers, preserve Medicaid for those who depend on it, and ensure this program is strong for generations to come." - Congressman Gabe Evans

"Medicaid was created in a high-trust society, but fraud, waste, and abuse are eating away at its foundation. CMS is committed to partnering with local health leaders and lawmakers like Rep. Evans to restore that trust by shutting down scams, reining in runaway spending, and ensuring that Medicaid dollars fund high-quality care for the vulnerable Americans who need it."-CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Congressman Evans also announced the introduction of his newest legislation, called the Strengthening Tools of Oversight to Prevent (STOP) Medicaid Fraud Act. This legislation will help combat Medicaid waste, fraud, and abuse by requiring states to electronically verify and confirm the legitimate billing of two programs that have recently been exploited by scammers and criminals: non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) and applied behavior analysis (ABA).

The bill will require states, beginning January 1, 2027, to use electronic verification systems to confirm that Medicaid-funded non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) and applied behavior analysis (ABA) services were actually provided. States that already have a qualifying electronic verification system in place when the bill is enacted would be exempt as long as they continue using it. If CMS determines that a state is not complying, the state will have 90 days to submit a corrective action plan and one year from receiving CMS's notification to come into compliance.

In recent months, HCPF's mismanagement of Colorado's Medicaid program has dominated headlines, from rampant overspending to NEMT fraud to autism/ABA fraud.The Colorado Sun reports that total Medicaid spending in Colorado has surged to roughly $14.6 billion, more than doubling over the past decade, even as enrollment has grown only about 7 percent over that same period.