Medicare Fraud Task Force Denies Majority of Organ Transplant Claims, Reports Sharp Increase in Payments
The White House anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance has denied 96% of Medicare organ-transplant claims since March, after data showed a rise from $200 million in 2019 to $14.4 billion in 2025.
Medicare payments for tissue and organ transplants rose sharply from $200 million in 2019 to $14.4 billion in 2025, prompting the White House anti-fraud task force to intensify scrutiny. The task force, overseen by Vice President JD Vance, has denied 96% of claims filed since March, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz said the surge in claims raised concerns for hospitals and physician groups. > "That's a lot of money," Oz told reporters in Milwaukee, adding that the increase could strain the health-care system.
In addition to transplant claims, CMS identified 4,200 suspicious allograft claims totaling $224 million and flagged fraudulent activity involving durable medical equipment (DME). Payments to 102 DME suppliers were suspended and billing privileges for 725 others were revoked, representing 8.6% of Medicare-funded DME in 2025.
A spokesperson for Vance’s office said the task force’s actions, combined with a moratorium on new DME companies and enforcement by the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services, have significantly reduced DME fraud. > "Thanks to the whole-of-government approach, we stopped nearly $220 million in fraudulent skin-substitute claims and suspended or revoked billing privileges for over 800 DME suppliers," Oz said in a statement.
The Justice Department also charged 15 individuals in Minnesota for $90 million in alleged fraudulent claims tied to state-funded assistance programs. Vance highlighted the takedown of large Medicaid and autism-fraud cases in a recent social-media post, emphasizing the task force’s ongoing investigations.
The task force was created by an executive order in May and involves multiple federal agencies working to detect and prevent Medicare and Medicaid fraud.