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A federal lawmaker serving greater Williamsport says he participates in White House task force efforts to try and reduce waste, abuse and fraud, particularly as it pertains to Medicaid and home health care.
U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, told those in a tele-town hall this week that he participates by aligning his and his colleague's legislation with the administration's initiatives.
Meuser, serving the 12 counties in the 9th Congressional District, says he has "participated in the task force led by Vice President JD Vance to find legislative solutions to reduce, and in some cases, stop these costly taxpayer losses.
Meuser says he works alongside the administration in his capacity as chairman of the Financial Services Committee Republicans Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
This work aligns congressional investigations with the White House initiative, he noted.
Meuser told callers he has joined White House roundtables hosted by Vance to discuss specific regional waste of federal dollars issues, such as Medicaid and home care funding in Pennsylvania.
The task force addresses vulnerabilities in major benefit and welfare programs. It conducts nationwide audits, pauses high-risk enrollments, collaborates with federal and state agencies, and urges congressional codification of its reforms.
Meuser said he estimated there's been about $260 billion saved by cutting out waste, fraud and abuse and that it has happened over time.
He noted a lot of this has to do with finding people who are stealing or ineligible for Medicaid.
He pointed to what was happening in Minneapolis where the level of waste, fraud and abuse of Medicare were – as he put it – "outrageous."
The major fraud in Minneapolis and wider Minnesota involved a massive $250 million pandemic relief food aid scheme run by the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, alongside sprawling investigations into state-funded daycare, autism, and Medicaid programs.
The Feeding Our Future SchemeThe Operation: Organizers claimed to feed millions of vulnerable children during the COVID-19 pandemic, but instead pocketed the federal taxpayer funds.
Aimee Bock directed the organization, which federal prosecutors called the largest pandemic-relief scam in the country. As reported in numerous legitimate stories Bock ran Feeding Our Future, which had claimed it helped provide millions of meals to children in need during the pandemic."
In May, a federal judge sentenced Bock to nearly 42 years in prison and the Justice Department has charged nearly 100 individuals in connection with the scheme, securing over 60 convictions.
Daycare centers in Minneapolis received millions in public funds despite having few or no children in attendance. Federal and state agents subsequently executed coordinated raids on dozens of childcare and autism centers across Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Meuser also pointed to Los Angeles, where one location was found to be defrauding taxpayers over $450 million for providers for home care.
Home health care and hospice providers in Los Angeles have been defrauding Medicare by billing for end-of-life and in-home medical services that were either completely fake, medically unnecessary, or never provided.
The investigations there were assisted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, Meuser said.
Additionally, Meuser said he continues to work with state Attorney General Dave Sunday on stopping scams and fraudsters and billing and that is inappropriate.