Ohio officials acknowledge concerns about Medicaid fraud allegations, but remain quiet on likely scope

State officials are acknowledging concerns about allegations of Medicaid fraud in Ohio and vowing to double down on reviews, but are stopping short of saying how widespread they believe the fraud is.

In a May 1 letter to Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said there are “plans to undertake an immediate revalidation of high-risk providers and will also submit within the next 30 days our comprehensive and aggressive provider revalidation plan and timeline, as requested.”

The letter was in response to one Oz sent to all 50 governors last month, demanding they act to identify and remove noncompliant Medicaid providers, according to reports.

“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,” Oz wrote, Fox News Channel reported.

In a Thursday statement to Ohio.News touting its record as “a national leader in catching and prosecuting Medicaid fraud,” the Ohio Department of Medicaid said it “is aware of concerns involving home health care activity in Franklin County and has been actively investigating these matters” even before The Daily Wire published reports about suspected fraud.

The Daily Wire reported that seven buildings owned by Cordoba Real Estate along East Dublin Granville Road in Columbus house 288 businesses registered with Medicaid. The companies, according to the report, charged taxpayers more than a quarter of a billion dollars between 2018 and 2024, despite being in a city where only 6,273 people 75 or older are on Medicaid.

The Ohio Department of Medicaid “takes program integrity seriously, and we rely on ongoing monitoring, data analysis, and multiple safeguards to identify and address potential fraud,” Stephanie O’Grady, deputy director and chief communications officer for the Ohio Department of Medicaid, said in a statement. “While programs of this size inherently carry some risk, the level characterized in recent reporting is not supported by our data or experience.”

Additionally, Ohio Medicaid officials are pushing back, saying some of the companies are no longer billing for Medicaid.

“Upon initial review, some of the entities mentioned in the series are no longer Ohio Medicaid providers or have not billed Medicaid in several years,” O’Grady said. “Some other providers are subject to ongoing investigation.”

“Ohio’s home and community-based care programs are grounded in data showing that legitimate in-home care is typically safer for individuals and significantly more affordable for taxpayers,” O’Grady added. “Many individuals receiving these services would otherwise require placement in higher-cost nursing facilities. On average, home health care costs half as much as placement in a nursing facility.  Ensuring access to appropriate home-based care is both a responsible use of public resources and a critical part of meeting the needs of our most vulnerable Ohioans.”

The response isn’t likely to placate critics who have been raising concerns about fraud since allegations emerged in Minnesota.

“Minneapolis was just the tip of the iceberg of waste, fraud, and abuse,” U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, a Republican from Ohio, said in a statement in response to The Daily Wire report. “This investigation confirms what many of us have long suspected – that there is widespread Medicaid fraud nationwide.”

Suggestions of Medicaid fraud should come as no surprise to Buckeye State leaders.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has brought 444 indictments in 2023, 2024, 2025, and through May 5 in 2026. The efforts have led to 481 convictions, 146 civil settlements and judgments, and more than $78.4 million in recoveries.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has brought charges against Medicaid providers. In March, Scott Partika, director of the Ohio Department of Medicaid, told members of the Ohio Senate Medicaid Committee that the agency was looking into rooting out fraud in the state’s Medicaid system and that it had “60 different project work streams” under investigation.

“The last couple of months, there’s been a heightened attention to fraud, waste and abuse across the country, which we have certainly welcomed,” Partika said, adding that the department was “already underway” with doing its due diligence to review policies.

“Is there any unintended loophole that was created from a policy that is being abused by someone?” Partika asked. “And I think that’s important to make sure we’re rooting that out because of what I said at the very beginning, of ensuring the program is here for those who need it most, and those dollars are being used to support those folks and not allowing someone who would exploit a loophole in policy or blatantly fraudulating the program.”