Florida Touts 150+ Fraud Referrals, 220 Provider Terminations
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced results of Florida's Medicaid fraud crackdown, including more than 150 referrals to the attorney general's Medicaid fraud unit, payment restrictions or suspensions for over 260 providers, and termination of 220 providers since the start of the year. The state has conducted more than 400 onsite provider visits, focused on durable medical equipment, adult day care, and applied behavior analysis (ABA) providers, and is requiring enhanced credential and identity verification. The effort follows a CMS letter seeking information on Medicaid integrity from Florida and three other states, and uses a vendor conducting large-scale identity intelligence analysis across millions of enrollees. DeSantis said service interruptions for ABA patients since the state's 2025 shift to managed care delivery are the fault of providers, not the state agency.</parameter> <parameter name="why_it_matters">Florida Medicaid providers, especially ABA, DME, and adult day care providers, face intensified credentialing checks, onsite audits, and termination risk that can disrupt care access and provider cash flow.