DeSantis boasts about Medicaid fraud crackdown efforts

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Florida has made more than 150 referrals to the attorney general's Medicaid fraud unit, suspended payments to over 260 providers, and terminated 220 from the program since the start of the year. The crackdown followed a CMS letter to Florida and three other states and a social media post from CMS Director Mehmet Oz calling Florida a longtime fraud hotspot.

The enforcement has focused heavily on applied behavior analysis providers serving roughly 60,000 low-income children with autism, after Florida shifted ABA delivery to managed care plans in 2025. Projected ABA spending dropped from a forecasted $3.86 billion to $2.88 billion under the new model, though families and providers have reported service interruptions since the switch.

When asked about children losing access to care, DeSantis said any interruption is the providers' fault, not the state's, while AHCA Secretary Shevaun Harris said managed care plans are helping families find new providers. A legislature-created task force has met four times to review the model and is expected to finalize recommendations after two more sessions.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.