House Republicans Propose $28 Billion To Combat Health Care Fraud

Republicans in the House of Representatives are renewing their push to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse in federal health care programs with legislation that would provide an additional $28 billion to investigate and prosecute Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

Just days after House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) advanced the House's fiscal year 2027 budget resolution, he and five Republican colleagues introduced the Anti-Fraud Fund Act, which would strengthen the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program and expand the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) authority to investigate providers.

“The Anti-Fraud Fund Act is a commonsense bill that strengthens CMS’s ability to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute health care fraud, ensuring taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars never leave the Treasury into a fraudster’s hands,” Rep. Arrington said.

Rep. Arrington said the legislation would help ensure taxpayer dollars are protected and directed toward those who truly need assistance.

“Every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar stolen from taxpayers and the vulnerable Americans these programs are meant to serve,” he said.

Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) agreed that Congress should keep prioritizing rooting out waste, fraud and abuse rather than cutting benefits for eligible recipients.

“We've been saying that for a long time,” Rep. Weber told Texas Politics in an interview. “Waste, fraud, and that's what we ought to be working on.”

Rep. Weber said his son works in the FBI, and the amount of waste, fraud and abuse he has witnessed is alarming.

“He said, ‘If Americans knew all the waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid and Medicare, they would rise up,’” Rep. Weber said. “There's a lot in Texas.”

The Texas congressman pointed to several cases of able-bodied adults who register for Medicaid and Medicare in more than one state to receive double the benefits.

“They would register in Texas for Medicaid,” Rep. Weber said. “They'd go right across the line in Louisiana and get the same benefit from Louisiana, and they can sit on their butt at home and watch TV.”

Rep. Weber said the most important goal of this overarching anti-fraud initiative is to ensure those who need the funds actually get it.

“People who actually deserve it is one thing,” he said. “Those who are lazy, no-good bums like that, they need to be arrested.”

Rep. Arrington said Congress has a responsibility to ensure this happens.

“We owe it to all Americans to restore program integrity, enforce real safeguards and ensure these programs work for the people who truly need them,” Rep. Arrington said.