To the editor: Visitor contributors Mehmet Oz and Kim Brandt are elevating the flag concerning Medicare fraud (“Medicare fraud has gone international. It’ll take a nationwide effort to cease it,” July 15). Nonetheless, does Oz know President Trump has pardoned a few of the greatest Medicare fraudsters? Throughout Trump’s first time period, he granted clemency to at the least 10 healthcare executives and medical doctors convicted of large-scale Medicare fraud schemes.
In Could 2025, Trump commuted the sentence of Lawrence Duran, who was convicted in 2011 for his position in a $205–million Medicare fraud scheme. Philip Esformes, a Florida healthcare govt convicted in 2019 of a $1.3-billion Medicare/Medicaid fraud scheme, would see his 20-year sentence finish after simply 4.5 years when Trump gave him a commutation in 2020. Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye physician whose clinics defrauded Medicare of $42 million, was serving a 17-year sentence when Trump gave him a commutation. These are only a few of the individuals within the lengthy record of healthcare fraudsters that Trump both pardoned or handed commutations to.
So, Oz, I’d recommend that you just discuss to the president about letting criminals who prey on the federal government applications that you’re overseeing stroll earlier than taking any additional steps in warning us about Medicare fraud.
Pam Cwiklo, Camarillo
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To the editor: I applaud the Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Providers for creating the Fraud Protection Operations Middle in an try and diminish the unbelievable quantity of fraud perpetrated in opposition to Medicare and Medicaid. Nonetheless, the Trump administration shouldn’t be taking credit score for “altering that” course of to make Medicare much less susceptible.
It was the Well being Care and Schooling Reconciliation Act of 2010 handed by President Obama that amended the Social Safety Act, below which Medicare and Medicaid exist, to maneuver from a “pay and chase” mannequin to proactively stopping funds. The Middle for Program Integrity at CMS has been stopping funds from occurring for nearly 15 years now. It’s disingenuous to say that the Trump administration is simply now beginning this effort with out acknowledging steps taken beforehand.
John Winkelman, Rancho Mission Viejo
