INTERNACIONAL
READ: Dr. Oz puts all 50 governors on notice over billions lost to Medicaid fraud
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FIRST ON FOX: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz is putting state leaders on notice to root out rampant fraud, directing them in letters Thursday to take immediate action within days to identify and remove noncompliant Medicaid providers.
«Corrupt individuals and organizations masquerading as health care providers are defrauding Medicaid, and American taxpayers, of billions of dollars each year, placing valuable resources out of reach for those the program was intended to serve: low-income senior citizens, children, and disabled individuals. Classes of providers with less rigorous [enrollment standards]…» Oz wrote in a letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, sent to each of the nation’s 50 governors on Thursday morning.
Oz has given governors and state Medicaid leaders 10 business days to tell CMS whether they will commit to conducting a swift «revalidation» of high-risk Medicaid providers and provide a proposed timetable, alongside a separate 30-day deadline for a broader provider-revalidation strategy, escalating federal pressure on states to tighten anti-fraud enforcement.
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«Corrupt individuals and organizations masquerading as health care providers are defrauding Medicaid, and American taxpayers, of billions of dollars each year,» wrote Oz. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Oz said it is «urgent that action be taken immediately.»
«Failure to [commit to the revalidation plan] will be considered as we evaluate the likelihood of fraud in each state moving forward,» Oz stated.
States must also submit, within 30 days, a broader two-year strategy outlining how they will review healthcare providers for legitimacy and compliance.
The letters sent to the 50 governors all contained the same information directions, with Fox News Digital obtaining a copy sent to the state of Alabama.
KAROLINE LEAVITT WARNS ‘PEOPLE WILL BE IN HANDCUFFS’ AS FEDS ZERO IN ON MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL
«While the factors contributing to fraud are multifaceted and require a comprehensive approach to address, a revalidation process for high-risk providers will immediately deter criminal actors from continuing their fraud schemes, as the federal and state governments closely review and scrutinize the qualifications of providers to suspend or terminate clearly abusive actors from the program,» Oz wrote.
Medicaid fraud has been of particular interest to the Trump administration. (Pool/Fox News)
The letters target providers at «high risk of waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption,» particularly those with «less rigorous enrollment and billing requirements,» with CMS directing states to include any provider operating without a National Provider Identifier.
A second letter was also sent to each state Medicaid director reiterating the call for a revalidation strategy tailored to each state.
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«Our analysis of national trends strongly suggests a persistent and growing Medicaid threat posed by sophisticated actors knowingly exploiting these complex systems for financial gain,» Oz wrote.
Proposals must include a methodology and timeline for off-cycle provider revalidation (with emphasis on high-risk providers and those without NPIs); metrics to measure effectiveness and progress (including public reporting); processes for ongoing verification of provider information; strategies to ensure consistency and accuracy of provider data across fee-for-service and managed care systems (including oversight of managed care directories); and coordination with relevant law enforcement partners.
In 2022, Minnesota’s $250 million «Feeding Our Future» scheme has led to a wave of convictions in recent years. (Alex Wong/Getty Images; Rick Kern/Getty Images for Vox Media)
Medicaid fraud has been of particular interest to the Trump administration given the massive fraud scandal that has unfolded in Minnesota.
The push comes amid heightened focus on large-scale fraud cases, including Minnesota’s $250 million «Feeding Our Future» scheme, which became a national flashpoint after surfacing in 2022 and has led to a wave of convictions in recent years.
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A separate state-commissioned review of Minnesota’s Medicaid program this year identified vulnerabilities across 14 high-risk services and estimated that up to $1.7 billion in payments over four years may have been improper — findings that have intensified federal scrutiny and calls for reform.
CMS is also weighing Medicaid deferrals in states including California, New York and Maine, signaling potential legal battles as federal and state officials clash over enforcement.
minnesota fraud exposed, mehmet mz, health, politics
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Pro-Israel college students who have watched socialism and anti-Israel activism gain ground on campus say the same political currents are now colliding with the Democratic Party — and the backlash is pushing some young Jewish voters to the right.
«Even before the craziness of the post-October 7 campus climate, it was already an underlying sense of, ‘America is bad and we’re gonna learn about that,’» University of Michigan rising senior Addison Stone told Fox News Digital.
Speaking at the Israel on Campus Coalition’s national summit in Washington this week, students said political currents they have watched spread on college campuses are increasingly surfacing in Democratic politics, particularly as the party’s progressive wing gains ground and clashes deepen over Israel.
Dylan Goldman, a rising senior at UC Berkeley, identified himself as «left leaning» and told Fox News Digital that Democratic lawmakers welcoming the popular socialist candidates – who overwhelmingly hold hostile postures toward Israel – are making a «really poor move.»
DEMOCRATS LURE ‘POLITICALLY HOMELESS’ GEN Z TOWARD SOCIALISM — A COUNTERATTACK IS TAKING SHAPE
Israeli pop star Harel Skaat performs for students at the 2026 ICC National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. (Fox News Digital)
«Jewish Democrats who are not single-issue voters… now feel so alienated by our own party that it’s pushing us conservative. It’s pushing to go further right,» said Goldman.
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive whose campaign drew support from the democratic socialist movement, won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary Tuesday, adding to a string of victories for left-wing candidates challenging the Democratic establishment as the party battles for control of Congress in November’s midterm elections.
The conference brought hundreds of pro-Israel students to Washington for advocacy training, networking and discussions on supporting Israel, combating antisemitism and strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship on college campuses.
«The academics don’t help, but they’re sort of helping indoctrinate the next generation and the next generation with the combination of learning about that in classes and going on social media and seeing it and the DSA trying to make everything cool with communism,» Stone said. «You’re really seeing the outcome of that on college campuses where they’re burning both American and Israeli flags.»
JEWISH MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS ADMIT THEY WILL VOTE REPUBLICAN IF ABDUL EL-SAYED BECOMES NOMINEE
Student at a pro-Israel conference spoke with Fox News Digital about the ideologies finding support on college campuses. (Ashley DiMella/Fox News Digital)
As those political divisions play out nationally, organizers at the summit said Jewish students are still confronting the campus hostility that helped bring many of them to Washington.
«What’s happening to Jewish students on American campuses should alarm every American,» Israel on Campus Coalition CEO Jacob Baime told Fox News Digital. «The hostility is out in the open now: mobs on the quad, intimidation in the classroom, and harassment online. But here’s what the mob didn’t count on: this generation isn’t backing down.»
«These students are the proudest, toughest, most organized pro-Israel cohort we have ever seen. This week we brought more than 1000 campus leaders to Washington to train and equip them with the skills they need to go back to campus ready to fight for what they believe in,» he added.
FETTERMAN WINS PRAISE FOR ‘GUTS’ AFTER GOING TOE-TO-TOE WITH JON STEWART OVER ISRAEL SUPPORT
Israeli pop star Harel Skaat performs for students at the 2026 ICC National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. (Fox News Digital)
Fetterman, who spoke at the Israel on Campus Coalition’s flagship event, said the Democratic Party’s shifting posture toward Israel and the Jewish community is becoming increasingly consequential.
His support for Israel has repeatedly put him at odds with members of his own party, including over the broader conflict in the Middle East and his backing of President Donald Trump’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
«I think I was the only Democrat to support the Trump administration to bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities,» Fetterman told Fox News Digital. «If you don’t want them to acquire a nuclear bomb, it’s pretty reasonable to bomb their nuclear facilities.»
Fetterman argued the threat extends beyond Israel, casting the confrontation with Iran as a larger battle over American values and the West’s role in the region.
«The problem is Iran. That’s the problem,» he said, later adding, «I’m proud to stand for America, civilization, democracy, and Israel is our special ally that represents all of that in that region.»
campus radicals, socialism, gen z, campus controversy, democratic party, culture opinion, israel
INTERNACIONAL
Fiscalía pide 396 años de prisión para extesorero del Banco Nacional de Costa Rica acusado de sustraer ₡3,293 millones (USD 7.3 millones)
El juicio contra Ricardo Olivas Valle, extesorero del Banco Nacional de Costa Rica (BNCR), entró en su etapa final con la solicitud de la Fiscalía de una condena que suma 396 años de prisión por el supuesto desfalco de ₡3,293 millones (USD 7.3 millones) sustraídos de las bóvedas de la sede central de la entidad, en San José.
La Fiscalía Adjunta de Probidad, Transparencia y Anticorrupción (Fapta) inició la presentación de sus conclusiones ante el Tribunal Penal, donde expondrá por qué considera que el exfuncionario es responsable de los hechos que se le atribuyen y solicitará formalmente la pena de cárcel.
Olivas Valle enfrenta una acusación por 33 delitos de peculado, uno por cada extracción de dinero que, según el Ministerio Público, habría realizado entre 2021 y 2023 aprovechando los últimos minutos de la jornada laboral y los momentos de menor vigilancia dentro de la institución.
De acuerdo con la investigación, las sustracciones ocurrían principalmente entre las 4:16 p. m. y las 5:29 p. m., cuando el movimiento dentro de las instalaciones disminuía. La Fiscalía sostiene que el extesorero aprovechaba supuestos fallos en los controles internos para retirar millones de colones de las bóvedas.
Durante el juicio fueron analizadas decenas de grabaciones de seguridad que, según la acusación, muestran al exfuncionario colocando fajos de billetes en sobres de manila amarillos para luego salir de la entidad pasando por los controles de seguridad.
El caso fue denominado “Gallo Tapado” por el Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) y la Fiscalía debido al presunto mecanismo utilizado para ocultar el origen del dinero.
Según la tesis acusatoria, Olivas habría utilizado parte de los fondos sustraídos para comprar diariamente grandes cantidades de fracciones y billetes de lotería de la Junta de Protección Social (JPS). Cuando resultaba ganador, el dinero era depositado en sus cuentas bancarias, lo que habría permitido introducir los recursos al sistema financiero aparentando que provenían de una fuente legítima.
Durante los allanamientos realizados en su vivienda, las autoridades encontraron cerca de 3,000 fracciones de lotería, como parte de las evidencias incorporadas al expediente judicial.
El Ministerio Público sostiene que la prueba presentada durante el debate demuestra la participación del exfuncionario en las extracciones de dinero y solicitó una condena acumulada de 396 años.
Sin embargo, aunque la sumatoria de penas supera ampliamente la normativa nacional, la eventual sentencia deberá ajustarse al límite máximo establecido por la legislación costarricense, que actualmente es de 36 años de prisión.
Además de la Fiscalía, en el proceso participan como partes acusadoras la Procuraduría General de la República y el Banco Nacional, institución que reclama los recursos supuestamente sustraídos.
Durante su declaración ante el Tribunal, Olivas Valle reconoció que tuvo problemas relacionados con los juegos de azar, aunque afirmó que su adicción estaba limitada a la compra de lotería.
“Tuve adicción a los juegos, en algún momento, a la lotería solamente”, declaró el exfuncionario, quien aseguró que tras ingresar a prisión en 2023 su problema estaba relacionado únicamente con “ganas de jugar”.
El extesorero negó que su conducta estuviera vinculada con otros tipos de apuestas y afirmó que compraba principalmente tiempos y monazos, mientras que la lotería la adquiría en menor cantidad.
La investigación también reveló presuntas debilidades en los mecanismos de supervisión interna del Banco Nacional.
Según la acusación, desde 2019 no se realizaban arqueos físicos exhaustivos en las bóvedas, situación que habría permitido que las supuestas sustracciones continuaran durante varios años sin ser detectadas.
Además de Olivas Valle, otras personas fueron incluidas en investigaciones separadas por posibles omisiones, incumplimiento de deberes o encubrimiento. Entre ellas figuran supervisores, contadores, personal de seguridad y exdirectivos jurídicos de la entidad.
El juicio continuará con la etapa de conclusiones de las partes y posteriormente el Tribunal Penal deberá definir la responsabilidad del exfuncionario y la eventual sentencia.
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