On March 16, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) entitled, Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. The EO establishes a Task Force to Eliminate Fraud (Task Force) within the Executive Office of the President (EOP) to investigate fraud across federal programs and coordinate enforcement efforts across agencies. It designates the Vice President as Chair, the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as Vice Chair, and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security as Senior Advisor. The EO directs the Task Force to coordinate and accelerate a comprehensive national strategy to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programs, including those administered jointly with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners, such as Medicaid. The EO also highlights reports of fraud in Minnesota’s state Medicaid program. This action follows a February 25, 2026 announcement by Vice President Vance and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz, M.D. outlining several measures to address Medicare and Medicaid fraud, including: (1) deferring $259.5 million of quarterly federal Medicaid funding to Minnesota; (2) imposing a six-month moratorium on Medicare enrollment for certain Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers; and (3) implementation of the Comprehensive Regulations to Uncover Suspicious Healthcare (CRUSH) initiative.

The EO can be found here.

Impact on General Dentistry: Efforts to strengthen oversight and address fraud may result in new compliance and administrative requirements across federally funded health programs. AGD will continue to monitor these developments and their potential impact on general dentists participating in programs such as Medicaid.