House Panel Examines Human Toll of Health Care Fraud

Health care fraud is a physical threat where unnecessary surgery and hospice abuse prove that the cost of greed is human life, experts say.

House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations chairman Rep. John Joyce (R-Pa.) listens during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 3, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Medicare and Medicaid fraud is not just a financial crime but a physical threat to patients, a panel of experts told lawmakers on Feb. 3.

Patients often suffer from unnecessary, inadequate, or a complete lack of medical care in all cases of Medicare and Medicaid fraud, John Joyce, chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said. In other cases, patients are unknowingly victims of identity theft or misleading marketing practices perpetrated by these fraudsters.