INTERNACIONAL
Bombshell report exposes healthcare fraud schemes as taxpayers lose up to $521 billion annually
FIRST ON FOX: House GOP lawmakers are rolling out a slew of new bills after a bombshell report found that hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars are potentially being targeted by fraudsters every year.
As people across the U.S. are battling high costs that make it hard to make ends meet, a report released Tuesday by the House Energy & Commerce Committee warns that federally subsidized healthcare programs are rife with fraud and abuse — «impacting every single American, in one way or another.»
While no estimate for Medicare and Medicaid fraud exists specifically, the report noted, a 2024 estimate by the Government Accountability Office said $233 billion to $521 billion taxpayer dollars going to federal programs are lost to fraud every year. Federal healthcare programs accounted for 24% of federal spending in 2024, according to the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities.
Medicaid specifically is rife with vulnerabilities making it susceptible to fraud, the report said, which is why House Republicans are rolling out 14 bills aimed at closing loopholes in the system, shrinking bureaucracy, and making it easier for states to recoup lost dollars while also incentivizing them to go after potential fraudsters.
«Taxpayers that fund benefit programs with federal and state taxpayer dollars are cheated by fraud, inflating healthcare costs that are passed along to everyone,» the committee’s report states. «Every dollar stolen from federal health care programs is a dollar that is not spent on high quality healthcare for those that need it most.»
WHITE HOUSE PUSHES ‘WATERSHED’ FRAUD-FIGHTING REFORM IN CONGRESS AS VANCE CONVENES TASK FORCE
«The amount of fraud that the Biden-Harris Administration allowed to go unchecked in government health programs is unacceptable. Every dollar stolen by fraudsters or wasted on improper payments is a dollar that cannot be used to support families in need who rely on these programs,» House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., told Digital.
REPUBLICANS DECLARE WAR ON ‘ORGANIZED THEFT’ WITH GOVERNMENT FRAUD CRACKDOWN
Republicans’ new bills can be lumped into three categories: legislation aimed at improving identification of fraud in state and federal health programs, legislation aimed at enforcing anti-fraud rules, and legislation to hold states that allow fraud to run rampant accountable.
One bill led by Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, for example, would force states to designate a single role for internal financial controls of state Medicaid programs.
READ: DR. OZ PUTS ALL 50 GOVERNORS ON NOTICE OVER BILLIONS LOST TO MEDICAID FRAUD
A bill by Rep. Mike Rulli, R-Ohio, would force each state to annually report to the federal government on any potential Medicaid fraud vulnerabilities and their plan to fix it.
And legislation by Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., would require states to check whether someone enrolling for Medicaid was removed from another taxpayer-funded healthcare program.
The report released on Tuesday said that Medicaid spending accounts for an average 30.7% of states’ budgets, and that those outlays have increased exponentially in recent years.
States like New York and California are also projected to see costs spike, the report said.
TOP FEDERAL PROSECUTOR CALLS CALIFORNIA A ‘FRAUDSTER’S PARADISE,’ WARNS STATE OFFICIALS COULD FACE CHARGES
The Golden State is expected to see annual Medi-Cal spending, its state healthcare program, rise from $83 billion per year in 2014 to $219.7 billion by 2027, the report said, adding, «New York is projected to spend 11% more on Medicaid from all funding sources in 2027 — a total of $124 billion.»
The report noted that federal healthcare is ripe for fraud given its size and complexity, as well as the traditional enforcement model of «pay and chase,» which relies on law enforcement to investigate fraud suspicions after a false claim has already been settled.
Provider fraud is also a common area of losing tax dollars, with healthcare providers being known to submit multiple claims for a single service or bill services and equipment for patients that they have never seen at all, the report said.
Transnational criminal groups have also profited from U.S. healthcare fraud, the report said, alleging that hardworking Americans are seeing their tax dollars not only lost to fraud at home but overseas as well.
TRUMP ADMIN’S FRAUD CRACKDOWN TARGETS FOREIGNERS ACCUSED OF INFILTRATING US FEDERAL PROGRAMS
The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) «Operation Gold Rush» uncovered that Russian organized crime actors billed over $10 million in false claims made via 30 medical supply companies they purchased in a years-long scheme, the report said.
It highlighted further foreign healthcare schemes that saw malign actors in Hong Kong, Georgia, Estonia, Pakistan and elsewhere attempt to steal billions more in U.S. taxpayer dollars.
The fraud reports come at a time when millions of Americans across the country are struggling with high living costs that have made it a challenge to make ends meet.
Guthrie said the House GOP legislative package amounted to «commonsense steps» to ensure states can recoup lost fraud dollars and incentivize them to close loopholes in the future.
It comes as the Trump administration is also prioritizing healthcare fraud crackdowns. Vice President JD Vance announced last week that 760,000 enrollees under the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, would be removed over fraud claims.
politics, bills, health care, health care healthy living, republicans elections, taxes, house of representatives politics
INTERNACIONAL
Aprehenden a 23 personas señaladas de integrar una presunta red de falsificación y venta de diplomas en Panamá
La Policía Nacional de Panamá aprehendió a 23 personas señaladas de integrar una red dedicada a la venta ilegal de plazas de trabajo en el Ministerio de Educación (Meduca) y a la falsificación de diplomas y otros documentos académicos.
Entre los detenidos figuran funcionarios administrativos, docentes, exdocentes y particulares. Todos permanecen a disposición de las autoridades competentes tras el operativo, denominado Credenciales 2.0.
La Dirección de Investigación Judicial (DIJ), en coordinación con el Ministerio Público, ejecutó más de 25 diligencias de allanamiento de manera simultánea.
Los procedimientos se desarrollaron en las provincias de Panamá Oeste, Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, Veraguas y Los Santos.
La Operación Credenciales 2.0 es un operativo policial y judicial en Panamá que derivó en la aprehensión las personas descritas por su presunta vinculación con la venta irregular de plazas docentes en el Meduca y la falsificación de diplomas usados para ejercer funciones educativas sin cumplir los requisitos exigidos.
La estructura investigada habría operado con un esquema doble. Por un lado, comercializaba de forma irregular plazas laborales dentro del Meduca.
Por otro, falsificaba diplomas y certificados que servían para acreditar a personas que, según las sospechas, ejercían funciones docentes sin contar con la formación requerida.
Durante las diligencias, los investigadores recabaron diversos indicios de interés para el expediente. Entre los elementos incautados hay diplomas, certificados y otros documentos vinculados a la presunta falsificación.
Ese material quedó a disposición de la causa para su análisis dentro del proceso judicial en curso.
Las personas aprehendidas enfrentan investigaciones por presuntos delitos contra la fe pública, en la modalidad de falsificación de documentos.
También se les atribuyen posibles actos de corrupción de servidores públicos, encuadrados como delitos contra la administración pública.
El expediente incluye además una línea por presunto blanqueo de capitales, considerado un delito contra el orden económico. A esto se suman los señalamientos por ejercicio ilegal de la profesión y por delincuencia organizada.
La combinación de estos cargos apunta a una estructura organizada que habría operado de forma sostenida dentro del sistema educativo.
La Policía Nacional y el Ministerio Público mantienen la investigación abierta para determinar el alcance completo de la red.
El grupo de aprehendidos combina perfiles con acceso directo al sistema educativo y personas externas a la institución. Entre ellos, se reiteró que hay funcionarios administrativos del Meduca, docentes en ejercicio, exdocentes y particulares sin vínculo laboral formal con el ministerio.
Esa mezcla de perfiles sugiere, según la línea de la investigación, una red que habría combinado el acceso interno a los procesos de nombramiento con la producción externa de documentación falsa. Las autoridades no precisaron cuántas personas corresponden a cada categoría dentro del total de aprehendidos.
En su primera etapa de investigación la operación se llamó Credenciales 1.0 y dejó más de 15 personas aprehendidas por su presunta vinculación con una organización dedicada a confeccionar y vender títulos, créditos y diplomas falsos utilizados para obtener cargos dentro del sistema educativo público.
Las autoridades efectuaron en esa oportunidad más de 21 allanamientos autorizados judicialmente y advirtieron que las diligencias continuaban.
Durante los allanamientos, los investigadores decomisaron diplomas, facturas y equipos tecnológicos que serán sometidos a análisis. La Fiscalía buscaba establecer cómo funcionaba la supuesta estructura, quiénes elaboraban los documentos y qué personas pagaron para incorporarlos a sus expedientes profesionales.
Los antecedentes de esta operación se encuentran en abril de 2025, cuando la Dirección Regional de Educación de San Miguelito denunció que varios aspirantes presentaron supuestos diplomas universitarios falsos. Las instituciones consultadas confirmaron que no habían expedido esas credenciales.
En febrero de 2026, los controles incorporados al proceso de vacantes permitieron identificar aproximadamente 50 posibles irregularidades relacionadas con diplomas, según reportó Infobae.
falsificación,título universitario,fraude académico,documentos
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The embattled French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday pinned some of the blame on the U.S. war against the terrorist regime in Iran for the widespread riots and looting unfolding across France.
The controversial passage referring to the Iran war from his televised speech triggered criticism from some experts. Macron said that «demonstrators expressed concern about the cost of living and the price of fuel. Both are driven by the conflict launched in the Persian Gulf, a conflict in which France has taken no part but whose consequences we are suffering.»
He added, «I fully understand their concern. It is being expressed in several other European capitals as well. That is why I have taken several initiatives at the international level to secure our fuel and our gas and to act on energy markets.» Macron announced that he would be traveling to the Gulf on a three-nation stop to discuss the energy crisis.
FRANCE’S TEEN RIOTS TAKE EXPLOSIVE NEW TURN AS GOVERNMENT POINTS FINGER AT HARD LEFT
Protests over the rising cost of living brought together students, climate activists, former «Yellow Vests,» and farmers ahead of the presidential election, drawing an estimated 200,000 participants across France, including 40,000 in Paris on October 17, 2026. (Kiran RIDLEY / AFP via Getty Images)
It is unclear which demonstrators Macron signaled out for alleged concerns about fuel prices. Fox News Digital reported on Monday on the inner workings of the large-scale riots with many of the groups named seeking to abolish the free enterprise system.
Macron stressed that those who have tried «to bring down the republic will be held accountable.»
President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that, «I said the first time I met Macron, I said, you got to close up your borders. You’re going to ruin your country. And they’ve ruined their country. It’s going to be hard to get it back. But hopefully France will come back.»
A spokesman for the French foreign ministry pointed Fox News Digital to President Macron’s televised address on Sunday and referred Fox News Digital to the Elysée press office for other questions. The Élysée press office did not respond by time of publication.
Lisa Daftari, an Iran expert, told Fox News Digital, «Macron is pointing at the Iran war, but fuel is expensive because Iran’s regime closed the Strait of Hormuz and held the world’s energy supply hostage. The bigger question is whether this is really about students and fuel prices at all. Major infrastructures and landmarks have been set on fire, shops were looted across the country and nearly 2,400 people were arrested in a single day.»
According to Daftari, who is the Foreign Desk Editor-in-Chief, «That’s not a protest over the price of diesel. It’s organized lawlessness and Macron’s own government admits it, blaming ultra-left groups and criminals. France has a domestic crisis, and current geopolitics are not the alibi for it.»
WHO’S WHO: INSIDE FRANCE’S ‘CHAOS INC.’ FRANCHISE OF COMMUNIST GROUPS, LABOR UNIONS AND GLOBAL ACTIVISTS
Protesters marched through central Paris amid clashes, fires, and heavy police deployment during nationwide demonstrations against rising living costs. Paris, France Oct. 17, 2026 (Firas Abdullah/Anadolu via Getty Images)
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu accused the «ultra-left movement» of «orchestrating profound disorder in the country leading up to the presidential election «
Barak Seener, an associate research fellow at the London-based Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital that «Illegal immigration from the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa as well as from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh to European states serve as Trojan horses to dominate the West. Calls to ‘globalize the intifada’ and ‘Free Gaza’ and ‘Stop the genocide’ are codes to subvert and ultimately dominate Western civilization and impose Sharia law. Macron is still making the mistake of ignoring this.»
VIOLENT FAR-LEFT RIOTS IN FRANCE ARE ‘CHILLING WARNING’ FOR AMERICANS AT HOME, MIKE JOHNSON SAYS
People gathered at Place de la République in Paris to observe the aftermath of the national mobilization day against the high cost of living held the previous day. The October 17 demonstrations were marked by extreme violence, looting, and vandalism by rioters. Paris, France Oct. 18, 2026. (Laurent Caron / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images)
In a social media post Vice President JD Vance criticized France for its porous immigration policy. Vance wrote on X that «Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion.»
He added: «They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were told it would lead to this and they didn’t listen.»
Seener said that similarly, the French political establishment’s political correctness and unilateral support of a Palestinian state have come home to roost. Just as Macron ignorantly declared at the 81st United Nations General Assembly that Hamas ‘has never been active’ in the West Bank, it is remarkable how Macron is reframing reality to suit his political agenda.»
Seener, who has written extensively about Iran, added that «He has chosen to address students, teachers, trade unions, lawmakers and business leaders and increased oil prices due to the U.S.-led war against Iran. It is unrelated to this. More fundamentally, Macron is choosing to ignore the Red-Green alliance that has contributed to the riots across France, including 38 radical Left and Muslim organizations and 16 student organizations which includes communist youth groups and a Muslim student association such as the Muslim Students of France.»
france, emmanuel macron, war with iran, donald trump
France is confronting a major intelligence failure after authorities badly underestimated the scale of nationwide protests that descended into riots and looting.
The days of chaos have prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to order a security review as senior officials acknowledged police «lost control» in several major cities and senior government officials have offered to resign after they failed to predict the level of pandemonium.
Some 550,000 people joined 110 marches nationwide Saturday, according to France’s Interior Ministry, far exceeding an intelligence estimate of roughly 200,000 demonstrators. Organizers put turnout even higher, at 800,000.
Cars burned in the streets, more than 1,500 stores were reportedly ransacked or destroyed and public buildings were attacked across the country. In Limoges, rioters broke into and torched a 19th-century city hall that had survived both world wars, causing its roof to collapse.
By Monday, the Louvre remained closed as student protesters blocked its entrances, extending the disruption into another day.
TOP TOURIST DESTINATION IN THE WORLD SHUTS DOWN AMID VIOLENT PROTESTS
The unrest overwhelmed some 60,000 police, gendarmes and other security personnel deployed nationwide. Nearly 1,000 law enforcement officers and firefighters were injured, at least 2,400 people were arrested and French authorities estimate some 3,000 businesses sustained damage.
As crowds swelled, police were stretched across multiple flashpoints while groups of masked rioters smashed storefronts, set fires and clashed with security forces. In some cities, authorities were unable to keep looters from moving through commercial districts even as officers struggled to contain the larger demonstrations.
By Monday, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez was acknowledging what shopkeepers and residents had already witnessed.
FRENCH NEWSPAPER RIPS MACRON AFTER RIOTS ERUPT ACROSS FRANCE: ‘INDELIBLE STAIN’
«Yes, Saturday, in certain large cities, we lost control,» Nuñez said.
He acknowledged a «lack of anticipation» ahead of the demonstrations and said authorities had underestimated not only the number of protesters but the violent groups that would exploit the unrest.
Nuñez offered his resignation to Macron. The president refused it and instead ordered a review of what the Élysée described as failures in planning and intelligence, demanding an accounting of how authorities had been caught so badly off guard.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin was even more direct.
«We unquestionably failed,» Darmanin said, pointing specifically to intelligence and France’s difficulty tracking and confronting the ultra-left.
The failure is particularly striking because the unrest did not emerge without warning.
The warning signs had been building for weeks.
The unrest began in September with high school students protesting teacher shortages, deteriorating school buildings and other conditions in classrooms around Paris. The movement quickly spread nationwide, drawing teachers, labor unions and other groups frustrated by rising living costs and declining public services.
Violence had already begun creeping into the demonstrations. Students set fires at schools, cars were torched and protesters clashed with riot police as authorities made thousands of arrests.
French intelligence services were watching the shift.
At an Oct. 1 government crisis meeting, intelligence officials assessed that the movement had reached a «tipping point» from school blockades toward urban violence and attributed its origins to the hard-left France Unbowed party and its allies, Reuters reported.
Yet little more than two weeks later, authorities were caught off guard by the scale of what hit the streets.
Saturday brought together students, trade unionists, Yellow Vest veterans and other groups under a loose «convergence of struggles.» Hundreds of thousands marched peacefully, while smaller groups of masked rioters broke away, looting stores, setting fires and attacking police.
The violence has since ignited a separate political fight over immigration.
WHERE’S MACRON? FRENCH LEADER BLASTED FOR ATTENDING CONCERT AS RIOTS ESCALATED
President Donald Trump blamed the destruction on France’s migration policies, writing Monday that «the migrants have taken over France» and urging the country to close its borders. Other right-wing political leaders across Europe have made similar arguments.
French authorities, however, have not blamed immigrants for the violence. Macron and his government have instead accused ultra-left militants and criminals of exploiting demonstrations rooted largely in education, living costs and public services.
The unrest is nevertheless intensifying a political battle already reshaping France ahead of its 2027 presidential election, giving the right fresh ammunition on immigration, crime and the government’s ability to maintain public order.
Marine Le Pen’s National Rally has seized on the violence to argue that Macron’s government has lost control of the country, while other figures on the French right have pushed for tougher policing and immigration restrictions.
The images of burning buildings, ransacked stores and overwhelmed police are landing at a particularly vulnerable moment for France’s political establishment. Macron cannot seek a third consecutive term in 2027, leaving an open presidential contest as voters increasingly identify immigration, security and purchasing power among the country’s major political concerns.
The riots have also widened a debate over whether the breakdown reflects a failure of policing, deeper economic and social grievances or years of government policy on immigration and integration — competing explanations that are likely to shape France’s political fight long after the streets are cleared.
For Macron’s government, the immediate question is more concrete: how security services that were already tracking an increasingly volatile protest movement still failed to anticipate the scale of Saturday’s violence.
france, world protests, politics, world, emmanuel macron, europe
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