The Republican candidate for governor has unveiled a plan he said will fight back against billions of dollars in Medicaid fraud that was first reported by a national conservative outlet. Vivek Ramaswamy said his crackdown will benefit Ohioans, including the 3 million people receiving healthcare benefits through Ohio Medicaid.
Ramaswamy said he’ll bring in $3.1 billion by asking the federal government to allow Ohio to keep 65 cents of every dollar of Medicaid fraud found, instead of 35 cents now. He said that money will go to providing co-pay assistance, reducing health insurance premiums and increasing health savings accounts. He said fraud is driving up the costs of health care for not only Medicaid recipients, but for those who aren't in the program as well.
"There's one solution we can deliver that can bring down costs without affecting quality or access to care, and that is to crush Medicaid fraud by the billions and put that money back in the pockets of law-abiding Ohioans," Ramaswamy said. "It is a moral issue, certainly on the part of the criminals. It is also a moral failure of a government that refuses to go after it, a government that goes after it slowly rather than quickly."
The Daily Wire reported that Ohio's Medicaid program paid out $1 billion in 2024 for home health services that were sometimes offered by family members with no training or who were caring for people who weren't sick—though the law allows adult children and some extended family members to apply to be paid as caregivers. The report also said the money was going to companies concentrated near Columbus and run by people with previous fraud convictions under little oversight.
Ramaswamy also said he’ll cut down bureaucracy that’s caused annual spending on Medicaid to go from $27 billion to $47 billion in ten years. He said money goes through as many as ten state entities, with overlapping responsibilities and too little accountability.
“We need to be taking steps now. This is an emergency," Ramaswamy said. "We will treat it as an emergency when we take office in January.”
Though Republicans have run state government since 2011, Ramaswamy and GOP leaders who were with him for his announcement said this is a priority because Gov. Mike DeWine and former Medicaid director Maureen Corcoran didn’t take steps to stop fraud.
"Those decisions that she was making internally allowed many of the things to happen," said Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima). "When you have a director who simply isn't going to follow the law, you have the kinds of catastrophes that we have right now."
Auditor Keith Faber, who's the Republican nominee for attorney general, also accused Corcoran of not taking concerns about fraud seriously: "This is what happens when you have a department that thinks it's more important to get benefits out the door than it is to make sure the right people are getting those benefits."
Ramaswamy was less direct but still critical.
“I personally believe our government functions better for our people, regardless of the party, when you have a governor of a state that can work hand-in-hand with leaders in the legislature and hand-in-hand with the federal government to do what's right for the actual citizens, law abiding citizens of your state," Ramaswamy said.
Last week DeWine issued a list of new anti-fraud initiatives, including asking the Trump administration to put in place a six month moratorium on enrolling new home health care and hospice businesses as Medicaid providers, suspending payments to high-risk providers, and new rules on electronic visit verification. And he detailed what Medicaid has already been doing to fight fraud, such as using AI and data analytics tools and routine and targeted audits by staff.
“Ohio takes all Medicaid fraud allegations seriously and will continue to work with the Trump Administration to proceed with several new fraud, waste, and abuse reforms immediately," DeWine said on X. "Ohio has been a national leader in catching and prosecuting Medicaid fraud." He also shared some praise offered to the state by Vice President and former Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance in comments he made about fraud.
Ramaswamy’s Democratic opponent for governor, former Department of Health director Dr. Amy Acton, said on X that the allegations should be fully investigated. Acton has also expressed support for work requirements for those in the Medicaid program.
Acton responded to Ramaswamy’s announcement with this statement: “As Governor, Dr. Amy Acton will prioritize rooting out Medicaid fraud, waste, and abuse while ensuring that Ohioans can access affordable, quality healthcare,” said Addie Bullock, spokeswoman for the Acton campaign. “Dr. Acton is fighting to lower healthcare costs, protect Medicaid and Medicare access, and end the rampant corruption in Ohio’s statehouse which has allowed fraud, waste, and abuse for far too long. No matter how many scam policies he rolls out, Ohioans know that Vivek Ramaswamy is an out-of-touch billionaire who thinks Ohioans are ‘lazy’ and ‘mediocre,’ calls affordability a ‘buzzword’ and says Medicaid and Medicare is a ‘mistake.’”
