By Jack Phillips

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the agency overseeing Medicaid and Medicare, announced Tuesday that his agency’s anti-fraud effort will come to every state.

During an interview at a Politico-hosted event, Oz said that every U.S. state can expect anti-fraud activities involving funds received through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS).

“We are going to announce this week that all 50 states are going to be requested to give us a plan over the next 30 days of how they’re going to re-validate providers in high-risk areas in their states,” Oz said.

Oz explained that it would involve proving whether individuals who are enrolled in CMS programs “really exist” or not, and whether the states “have a right to provide these services.”

“We’re asking the states to own that problem … red and blue, all of them,” he said, responding to a question from the Politico moderator about whether it involves every state. He later added that if states “don’t take it seriously, it indicates to us that we might have to take the audits … more aggressively.”

When asked about a possible deadline, he said CMS is asking the states to provide the agency with a plan over the next month.

Oz, a medical doctor better known as the moniker Dr. Oz from when he was a television personality, oversees the nation’s largest health insurance programs as the administrator of CMS. To date, Oz has sent letters to California, Florida, Maine, and New York alleging fraud in the states’ Medicaid programs.

At the Tuesday event, the Politico interviewer mentioned CMS having issued a statement earlier this month to correct a comment made by Oz on social media that 5.1 million beneficiaries received personal care services, which include things like help with eating, bathing, and dressing.

However, the real number receiving services was about 450,000, the CMS spokesperson said. Oz’s comment drew criticism from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office, with a spokesperson saying that it was “patently false” and her office is “glad they now admit it.”

During the interview, Oz emphasized the Trump administration’s efforts to address fraud around the country, which federal officials say is needed to rein in runaway spending and protect taxpayers.

With many midterm voters concerned about the cost of living in the United States, President Donald Trump has ramped up efforts to address it, announcing last month that Vice President JD Vance would help balance the nation’s budget by spearheading a national “war on fraud.”

The Trump administration has sought to withhold funding from some Democrat-led states in recent months, citing fraud concerns. This has included child care subsidies and other social services programs in Minnesota, New York, and three other states and with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in 22 states that have declined to hand over data that the federal government says is needed to root out fraud.

Lawsuits have been filed in response to the he anti-fraud efforts led by the federal government. In several cases, judges have ruled that the federal money must continue to flow for the time being.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, in response to claims of widespread hospice fraud in Southern California, blamed the Trump administration, in part, for entitlement fraud in the state.

In January, Newsom’s office said in a statement the administration has “dismantled the federal government’s ability to prevent and address fraud.”

“California didn’t wait—we’ve identified and cracked down on hospice fraud for years, taking real action to protect patients and taxpayers,” Newsom said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.