COLUMBUS, OHIO — A bombshell Daily Wire investigation just blew the lid off rampant Medicaid fraud right here in Ohio. The report found 288 “home health” companies operating out of nearly abandoned buildings outside Columbus, billing Ohio taxpayers more than $250 million over the last 8 years.
The local press has refused to cover it. Ohio Democrats have refused to acknowledge it. So last Tuesday, Ohio’s top Republicans stepped up and held a press conference to force the issue into the open and lay out a real plan to fix it.
On the podium: Vivek Ramaswamy, ORP-Endorsed Candidate for Governor; Senate President Rob McColley, ORP-Endorsed Candidate for Lieutenant Governor; Auditor Keith Faber, ORP-Endorsed Candidate for Attorney General; and Speaker Matt Huffman, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives.
Ohio’s Medicaid system is wrought with fraud. The investigation found 288 “home health” companies operating out of empty buildings, with services billed from inside private residences where there are almost no safeguards to confirm care was ever rendered. And even when Ohio recovers stolen funds, the math is broken — the state currently keeps less than 35 cents on every dollar saved. The rest goes back to Washington. There is no real incentive to chase the fraud.
Vivek’s three-part plan takes that head-on. First, align federal and state incentives: as Governor, Vivek will strike a time-bound deal with CMS to reverse the savings split so Ohio keeps at least 65 cents on every dollar recovered. Tennessee’s Trump-era waiver proved the model works — Ohio will take it to the next level. Second, simplify the Medicaid bureaucracy: cut redundant departments, streamline processes, and make sure Medicaid dollars actually reach the Ohioans who need care instead of disappearing into layers of government bureaucracy. Third, make fraud prosecution a top priority: partner with the Ohio Attorney General to deploy stronger front-end safeguards, tougher enforcement, and permanent exclusion for proven fraudsters.
On Day One, Vivek will make rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in Ohio’s Medicaid system a top priority. Cut the red tape. Partner with the federal government. Bring more money back to Ohio so it can be put back in our families’ pockets. Meanwhile, Ohio Democrats and the local press will not even acknowledge the corruption is happening.
Read the Daily Wire investigation and Vivek’s Wall Street Journal op-ed laying out the plan in full.
