California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded to accusations raised by Dr. Mehmet Oz regarding fraud in the state’s hospice programs, saying his administration has been addressing the issue for years and arguing that the criticism is politically motivated.

Newsom made the remarks while discussing allegations tied to hospice providers in California and comments made by Oz, who has accused the state of allowing widespread fraud.

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In his response, Newsom said enforcement actions and reforms were already underway well before Oz became involved in the issue.

“Dr Oz might have, well, you’re living in Oz when he went down, attacking the Armenian community just a few days ago, a business that’s down now 30% poor guy, small businessman, running a bakery because he decided to do a little Tiktok video or something, saying they’re somehow connected to the mob around hospice,” Newsom said.

The governor said his administration has focused on hospice oversight for several years, including taking regulatory action in 2021.

“Hospice, we’ve been after that for years and years before Oz was even on the scene,” Newsom said.

“2021, we did a moratorium on new hospice program. 280, we shuttered. We’ve been after this for years and years and years.”

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Newsom said the state’s approach has been aimed at cooperation while pursuing accountability.

“We want an open hand, not a closed fist,” he said. “We absolutely are here to be a partner, to go after waste, fraud and abuse.”

As part of broader efforts to address fraud and inefficiencies, Newsom pointed to the creation of a state office focused on technology and innovation.

“I started something called ODI office digital innovation,” Newsom said.

“I did not, my mistake, do it with a chainsaw. Had I done that? You would know about it.”

He said the Office of Digital Innovation was created to reform how the state approaches technology and procurement, including oversight tied to fraud concerns.

“We just began the office digital innovation, and we started to begin a process of reforming our procurement and our strategies on technology across the board, but also on the issues of wastewater abuse,” Newsom said.

Newsom also highlighted collaboration between state agencies, including work with California Health and Human Services.

“By the way, ODI was a partnership with the Health and Human Service to create the new EBD card, which, again, is leading the nation,” he said.

While acknowledging problems within the system, Newsom said he does not dispute that issues exist but pushed back on how they are being framed.

“I’m humbled in this perspective, no one’s denying these issues,” Newsom said. “But let’s also not deny this is purely political.”

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