David Schweikert Introduces Bill Combating Home Health Fraud

Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ) has introduced legislation to combat home healthcare fraud by tightening eligibility requirements for administering Medicaid home healthcare.

The Combating Deceptive Practices in Assistance Programs Act would require recipients to prove they cannot perform three or more Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), such as eating, bathing, dressing, grooming, and general mobility.

The bill is a response to instances of fraud throughout the home healthcare systems of numerous states, since federal guidelines are broad enough to allow each state to set its own parameters. Rep. Schweikert highlighted New York state as particularly vulnerable to fraud.

This is because New York has a Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) that allows eligible individuals to choose their own caregiver, including friends or family members, which, if that caregiver is not properly trained, can make the system easily exploitable.

In fact, New York spent approximately $12 billion on Medicaid in 2025, which Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) has sought to combat, calling the state's Medicaid system "one of the most abused programs in the history of New York."

"If we seriously want to preserve Medicaid and provide for the people most in need, we must crack down on fraud," said. Rep. Schweikert in a press release. "Reaching people that need these services the most should be the top priority of these programs, not growing one of the largest jobs corps in the state. With the U.S. adding almost $87,000 per second to our national debt, making commonsense reforms can save tens of billions of dollars while protecting the truly vulnerable."

Schweikert's bill comes on the heels of Representative Andy Biggs' (R-AZ) letter to Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) of California, demanding answers on the massive hospice fraud apparatus found operating within the state.

"Under Governor Newsom's purview, rogue operators and organizations have exploited taxpayers for years with no end in sight," Rep. Biggs wrote, adding, "If California won't end this dereliction of duty by state officials, then Congress will step in to protect unsuspecting men and women. We will not tolerate this shameless disregard of the duty of government to responsibly steward taxpayer dollars."