The Trump administration will require all 50 states to explain their plans to revalidate some of their Medicaid providers in a national escalation of anti-fraud efforts that have so far largely focused on specific states.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, said Tuesday during a Politico healthcare summit that his agency plans to ask states to “own” the problem of healthcare fraud this week with requests for states to share their strategies within 30 days.

“It’s an example of what we’d like them to do to prove that they’re serious about this,” Oz said. “And if you don’t take it seriously, it indicates to us that we might have to take the audits that we’re doing to the different states more aggressively.”

Tuesday’s announcement is part of a campaign to tackle waste, fraud and abuse in federal Medicaid and Medicare programs that so far has mostly targeted Democrat-led states.

Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create an anti-fraud task force across federal benefit programs led by Vice President JD Vance. It’s unclear whether Tuesday’s move is part of that effort, though Oz has been working closely with Vance on other investigations related to the task force. Asked for details on the new audit, a spokesperson for CMS said the agency was researching the AP’s inquiry.

Oz justified Tuesday’s move by saying federal health programs in some states have enrolled large numbers of providers who aren’t providing real care to patients, but instead profiting from fraud. He said the requests for states to verify the legitimacy of Medicaid providers will be focused on “high risk areas,” but didn’t explain what those entail.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have blamed for allowing fraud to happen in federally funded programs including Medicaid, welcomed Oz’s announcement.

Walz told reporters Tuesday that Minnesota hadn’t received the request yet but said his state is already moving ahead with the revalidation process and has made significant improvements. Minnesota sued CMS in February to stop it from withholding Medicaid funds. That case is still ongoing, and the money has not yet been released, but CMS wrote to state officials last month that the agency had approved the state’s corrective action plan.

Asked during the Politico interview whether there was a risk that Trump administration initiatives could eliminate, slow or harm essential healthcare programs, Oz said he expects the opposite. He said Medicaid and Medicare are the “crown jewels” of our nation.

“I believe this audit and others like it will save the programs we care most about,” he said.

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