2026年5月14日 美国东部时间上午10:25 / CNN
作者：塔米·勒布比
2026年5月13日，美国副总统J·D·万斯在华盛顿特区白宫建筑群的印第安条约厅举行新闻发布会，讨论“反欺诈举措”。路透社/伊夫林·霍克斯坦 摄
伊夫林·霍克斯坦/路透社
特朗普政府正在加大打击欺诈的力度，以期在11月的中期选举前向美国人证明，自己是纳税人资金的负责任管理者。
副总统J·D·万斯定于周四在缅因州重点介绍其反欺诈工作组的工作，就在一天前，他和其他高级官员公布了多项旨在打击医疗保险和医疗补助欺诈的措施。缅因州参议院竞选——共和党议员苏珊·柯林斯正谋求第六个任期——预计将是今年竞争最激烈的选举之一。
“我们想要保护医疗补助计划，我们想要保护医疗保险计划，”万斯在白宫园区的一场活动中表示。“但如果管理这些项目的州允许欺诈者掏空这些计划，我们就无法做到这一点。”
唐纳德·特朗普总统对联邦福利项目中的欺诈问题的执着引发了褒贬不一的反应。一些专家表示，他和他的团队夸大了现存的欺诈规模，而另一些专家则称他们低估了欺诈问题。政府的策略同样引发了批评——尤其是针对民主党领导的州的激烈言辞和行动——以及终于解决联邦政府长期存在的这一问题的赞扬。
特朗普的核心反欺诈官员之一穆罕默德·奥兹博士揭露了多起涉嫌欺诈案件，包括缅因州的医疗补助资助自闭症儿童治疗项目、加州的临终关怀和家庭护理提供商、纽约的成人日间社交护理中心以及佛罗里达州的耐用医疗设备公司等。奥兹领导着医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心，该中心管理着多个极易遭受欺诈的项目。
一个问题是，没有全面的数据能够显示社会保障项目中的欺诈到底有多普遍，尽管起诉盗窃数百万美元的罪犯的案件屡见不鲜。去年，美国司法部宣布已起诉324名被告，他们涉嫌参与价值超过146亿美元的医疗保健相关欺诈计划，这一数字是此前纪录的两倍多。
美国政府问责局2024年估计，每年可能有2330亿至5210亿美元的联邦资金因欺诈而损失，这是首次针对整个政府范围的估算。这一金额占联邦平均债务的3%至7%，不过政府问责局指出，不同机构和项目的风险水平可能存在巨大差异。
相关地，根据政府问责局对一小部分联邦项目的审查，2025财年，联邦政府在64个项目中总共出现了约1860亿美元的不当支付。但并非所有不当支付都属于欺诈——有些可能是行政失误造成的。
根据政府问责局的估算，自2003财年以来，不当支付总额已达3万亿美元，不过该局指出，实际金额可能“显著更高”。
与此同时，奥兹表示，其所在机构监管的联邦医疗项目中的欺诈、浪费和滥用问题每年高达1000亿美元。
但政府问责局欺诈部门的一位前高级主管表示，政府问责局和奥兹的欺诈估算很可能过低。
“大量纳税人的资金正在流失，”琳达·米勒说道，她是致力于提高政府打击欺诈能力的非营利组织“项目诚信联盟”的主席。
有组织的犯罪集团和其他老练的犯罪分子已经擅长窃取联邦资金，这一趋势在新冠疫情期间加剧，并在疫情后持续。
尽管政府问责局长期以来一直强调联邦部门和项目存在脆弱性，但这些问题往往得不到解决。对成本、过时技术、行政负担和隐私的担忧，以及行业和倡导者的反对，都会成为阻碍。
“无论哪个政府，机构最高层都缺乏关注、优先级、承诺和果断行动，”政府问责局法医审计和调查服务团队负责人塞托·巴多扬告诉CNN。他认为欺诈估算可能被低估了。
聚焦医疗保险和医疗补助
自2025年1月特朗普就职以来，政府官员就指控多个联邦项目存在欺诈问题。农业部长布鲁克·罗林斯表示，有18.6万死者的社保号码被用于领取食品券，而亿万富翁埃隆·马斯克领导的政府效率部声称，需要访问敏感的社保数据库以根除欺诈。
此外，政府已经加强了对明尼苏达州联邦儿童保育和医疗补助资金的欺诈调查。
如今的焦点尤其集中在医疗保险和医疗补助上，奥兹在他声称存在欺诈的地区拍摄了多段视频。他已致函多个州的州长，要求提供信息和打击欺诈的行动计划。该机构还暂停向加州拨付13亿美元的医疗补助报销款，向明尼苏达州拨付3.5亿美元的报销款，直到这些州能够为其索赔提供合理解释。
2025年10月16日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在华盛顿特区白宫椭圆形办公室的一场宣布活动中，倾听医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心提名者穆罕默德·奥兹的发言。安德鲁·卡瓦列罗-雷诺兹/法新社/盖蒂图片社
政府最新的几项反欺诈举措具有全国范围的性质。周三，美国卫生与公众服务部监察长办公室通知各州总检察长，将对他们的医疗补助欺诈控制部门进行审查，这些部门负责调查和起诉医疗补助提供商的欺诈行为。如果各州不加强其部门的欺诈起诉工作，他们可能会失去该项目近5亿美元的联邦支持。
与此同时，奥兹宣布对医疗保险中的临终关怀和家庭健康服务提供商实施为期六个月的全国性新注册暂停令。此前，他已宣布对轮椅、支具等特定耐用医疗设备提供商暂停新注册。
根据政府问责局的报告，医疗保险和医疗补助中的不当支付占总额的一半以上。
根据医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心的最新数据，2025财年传统医疗保险的不当支付近290亿美元，约占总额的6.6%。在医保优势计划中，这一数字近240亿美元，占比6.1%。
医疗补助的不当支付比例超过6.1%，金额超过370亿美元。
尽管米勒表示，她很高兴政府越来越关注欺诈问题，但她不同意白宫的宣传口径。万斯、奥兹和其他人批评各州，尤其是由民主党领导的州，对这些项目的监督过于松懈。但她表示，历届总统——以及特朗普第一任期内的特朗普本人——都没有将欺诈列为高度优先事项。
“问题不在于各州不在乎，”米勒说。“而是联邦政府从未告诉过他们要在乎。”
Fighting fraud is a top Trump administration priority. Here’s what you should know
May 14, 2026 10:25 AM ET / CNN
By Tami Luhby
U.S. Vice President JD Vance holds a press conference to discuss “anti-fraud initiatives” in the Indian Treaty Room at the White House complex in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 13, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
The Trump administration is doubling down on its fraud-fighting crusade as it seeks to show Americans that it is an attentive steward of taxpayer funds ahead of November’s midterm election.
Vice President JD Vance is set to highlight his anti-fraud task force’s efforts in Maine on Thursday, just a day after he and other top officials unveiled multiple measures aimed at combatting fraud in Medicare and Medicaid. Maine’s Senate race, where GOP Sen. Susan Collins is running for a sixth term, is expected to be among the most competitive contests this year.
“We want to protect Medicaid. We want to protect Medicare,” Vance said at an event on the White House campus. “But we can’t do that if the states that are administering those programs are allowing those programs to be fleeced by fraudsters.”
President Donald Trump’s fixation on fraud in federal benefit programs has been met with mixed reactions. Some experts say he and his team are exaggerating the amount of fraud that exists, while others say they are underestimating it. The administration’s tactics have similarly garnered both criticism — particularly for the harsh words and actions toward Democratic-led states — and praise for finally tackling a longstanding issue in the federal government.
One of Trump’s key fraud fighters, Dr. Mehmet Oz, has called out alleged fraud involving Maine’s Medicaid-funded treatment program for children with autism, hospice and home care providers in California, social adult day care centers in New York and durable medical equipment companies in Florida, among other schemes. Oz leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers several programs at high risk for fraud.
One problem is that no comprehensive data exists to show just how pervasive fraud is in safety net programs, although prosecutions against criminals who steal millions of dollars are common. Last year, the Justice Department announced it had charged 324 defendants for their alleged participation in more than $14.6 billion in healthcare-related fraud schemes, more than double the previous record.
The Government Accountability Office estimated in 2024 that between $233 billion and $521 billion in federal money could be lost annually to fraud in a first-of-its-kind government-wide estimate. That represents 3% to 7% of average federal obligations, though GAO noted the level of risk can vary substantially by agency and program.
Relatedly, the federal government also made about $186 billion in improper payments across 64 programs in fiscal year 2025, according to GAO’s review of a small subset of federal programs. But not all improper payments are fraudulent — some may be due to administrative errors.
Improper payments have totaled $3 trillion since fiscal year 2003, according to GAO’s estimates, though it notes that the actual amount could be “significantly higher.”
Meanwhile, Oz has said that fraud, waste and abuse in the federal healthcare programs his agency oversees totals $100 billion a year.
But one former senior executive in GAO’s fraud unit said that GAO’s and Oz’s fraud estimates are most likely too low.
“There’s a ton of taxpayer dollars being lost,” said Linda Miller, president of the Program Integrity Alliance, a nonprofit aimed at improving the government’s ability to fight fraud.
Organized criminal groups and other sophisticated players have become adept at stealing federal funds, ramping up during the Covid-19 pandemic and continuing afterwards.
While GAO has long highlighted the vulnerabilities in federal departments and programs, they often aren’t addressed. Concerns about costs, outdated technology, administrative burdens and privacy, along with pushback from industries and advocates, can get in the way.
“There is a lack of attention, priority, commitment and decisive action at the highest level of agencies, regardless of administration,” Seto Bagdoyan, a director on GAO’s forensic audits and investigative service team, has told CNN. He believes the fraud estimates are likely understated.
Spotlight on Medicare and Medicaid
Trump officials have alleged there is fraud in a variety of federal programs since the president took office in January 2025. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said 186,000 dead people’s Social Security numbers were being used to collect food stamps, while billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency claimed it needed access to sensitive Social Security databases to root out fraud.
And the administration has ramped up fraud probes into federal childcare and Medicaid funding in Minnesota.
The spotlight is now especially focused on Medicare and Medicaid, with Oz filming multiple videos in places where he claims fraud is occurring. He has sent letters to governors in several states demanding information and action plans to fight fraud. And the agency is withholding $1.3 billion in Medicaid reimbursements from California and $350 million from Minnesota until the states can justify the claims.
US President Donald Trump listens to Medicare and Medicaid Administrator nominee Mehmet Oz speak during an announcement in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 16, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
Several of the administration’s latest anti-fraud efforts have been national in scope. On Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General informed state attorneys general that it would review their Medicaid Fraud Control Units, which are tasked with investigating and prosecuting fraud among Medicaid providers. If states don’t step up their units’ fraud prosecutions, they could lose their federal support for the program, which totals nearly $500 million.
Meanwhile, Oz declared that he was placing a six-month nationwide moratorium on new enrollment of hospice and home health providers in Medicare. This comes after he declared a similar pause on new enrollment for certain providers of durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs and braces.
Improper payments in Medicare and Medicaid account for just over half of the total, according to GAO’s report.
Nearly $29 billion in improper payments, or roughly 6.6% of the total, were made in traditional Medicare in fiscal year 2025, according to the latest CMS data. For Medicare Advantage, the figure was nearly $24 billion, or 6.1%.
More than 6.1% of Medicaid payments, or more than $37 billion, were improper.
While Miller said she is glad the administration is increasing attention on the issue of fraud, she disagrees with the messaging from the White House. Vance, Oz and others have criticized states, particularly those led by Democrats, as being too lax in their oversight of the programs. But previous presidents – as well as Trump during his first term – didn’t make fraud a high priority, she said.
“It’s not that states don’t care,” Miller said. “It’s that they haven’t been told by the federal government to care.”