Federal Anti-Fraud Task Force Highlights Ongoing Focus on Program Integrity
The White House recently announced the creation of a Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, designed to coordinate a national strategy addressing fraud, waste, and abuse across federal benefit programs, including health care.¹
While this is a new federal initiative, the broader issue of program integrity has long been a priority across administrations, federal agencies, and state partners.
What the Task Force Aims to Do
According to the White House fact sheet, the Task Force will focus on:
- Strengthening eligibility verification
- Expanding pre-payment controls
- Improving fraud detection and data-sharing
- Establishing baseline anti-fraud standards across programs¹
These efforts span programs central to managed care, including Medicaid and other state-administered federal benefits.
Putting the Issue in Context
Independent federal and policy analyses highlight both the scale and nuance of program integrity challenges:
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates the Medicaid improper payment rate at 6.12% (~$37.4 billion) in FY 2025.² Importantly, over 77% of these improper payments are tied to insufficient documentation, which CMS notes “is generally not indicative of fraud or abuse.”² CMS further emphasizes that improper payments are not a direct measure of fraud, but often include administrative or eligibility-related errors.³ Overall, Medicaid paid approximately 93.9% of claims correctly, underscoring both system scale and operational complexity.⁴
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has consistently identified Medicaid and Medicare as high-risk programs due to their size and complexity, while also noting ongoing efforts to strengthen oversight.⁵
Why This Matters for Stakeholders
For managed care organizations, states, and providers, the direction of policy—regardless of administration—points toward:
Greater emphasis on front-end eligibility accuracy and documentation Continued investment in data systems, audits, and oversight mechanisms Increased focus on preventing improper payments before they occur Ongoing balancing of program integrity, access, and administrative burden
GAO has also noted that certain risks—particularly within managed care payment structures—may not be fully captured in existing measurement approaches, reinforcing the need for continued oversight evolution.⁶
A Consistent Policy Throughline
Across administrations, federal agencies and oversight bodies have emphasized that reducing improper payments—whether due to error or fraud—is essential to sustaining public programs and protecting access for eligible beneficiaries.²,⁵
The creation of this Task Force reflects a continuation of that broader effort, with potential implications for how policies are implemented at the federal, state, and plan levels.
What to Watch
As details emerge, key considerations include:
How new requirements may affect state and plan operations Whether additional reporting, audit, or data-sharing expectations will be introduced How oversight efforts will be balanced with member access and provider participation
References
- The White House. Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Establishes the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. Published March 2026. Accessed March 24, 2026. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-establishes-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Fiscal Year 2025 Improper Payments Fact Sheet. Published 2025. Accessed March 24, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/fiscal-year-2025-improper-payments-fact-sheet Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) Program. Accessed March 24, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/data-research/monitoring-programs/improper-payment-measurement-programs/payment-error-rate-measurement-perm
- Kaiser Family Foundation. A Look at the Medicaid Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) Program and Upcoming Changes and Impacts. Published 2025. Accessed March 24, 2026. https://www.kff.org/medicaid/a-look-at-the-medicaid-payment-error-rate-measurement-perm-program-and-upcoming-changes-and-impacts/
- Government Accountability Office. High-Risk Series: Improving the Management of Federal Programs. GAO-24-107487. Published 2024. Accessed March 24, 2026. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-107487
- Government Accountability Office. Medicaid: Program Integrity and Managed Care Oversight. GAO-25-107770. Published 2025. Accessed March 24, 2026. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-107770
