California Governor Newsom Slams Dr. Oz’s Fraud Claims as Baseless and Racist Allegations
California Governor Gavin Newsom has filed a formal civil rights complaint against Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), following a controversial visit Oz made to Los Angeles. The dispute centers on a video Dr. Oz posted to social media earlier this week, in which he traveled to the Van Nuys neighborhood to highlight what he described as the “epicenter” of healthcare fraud in America.
During the visit, Dr. Oz claimed that approximately $3.5 billion in Medicare fraud is occurring within Los Angeles County, specifically targeting the hospice and home care sectors. In the video, Oz was filmed standing in front of local businesses, including a bakery featuring Armenian script on its signage. He explicitly alleged that much of this fraud is orchestrated by “the Russian Armenian mafia,” pointing to the non-English lettering as an indicator of an “organized crime mafia deal.”
Governor Newsom responded swiftly, characterizing Dr. Oz’s statements as “baseless and racist allegations” that unfairly target Armenian Americans in California. In a letter directed to the Department of Health and Human Services, Newsom called for an immediate investigation into Oz’s conduct. The Governor’s office argued that such racially charged rhetoric from a high-ranking federal official risks “chilling participation” in critical healthcare programs by the targeted communities. Newsom further noted that the business owners filmed in the video, such as the bakery owner, have reported a significant drop in customers and expressed distress over being publicly linked to criminal activity without evidence.
State officials also pushed back on the substance of Oz’s policy critiques. Newsom’s office highlighted that California had already taken aggressive steps to curb hospice fraud, including signing legislation in 2021 that imposed a moratorium on new hospice licenses beginning in 2022. State representatives described Oz’s video as “cosplay” that ignores the actual regulatory work already underway to address financial abuse in the healthcare system.
The Armenian National Committee of America and local business leaders have joined the Governor in condemning the CMS Administrator’s comments. They argue that singling out a specific ethnic group and using local cultural symbols as evidence of criminality perpetuates harmful stereotypes and discrimination. Dr. Oz has maintained his position, stating that his agency is focused on stopping taxpayer theft and protecting patients from harm.
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