In his February 24, 2026 State of the Union address, President Trump offered a broad preview of his healthcare agenda, pointing to the administration’s “Great Health Care Plan” and the recent launch of TrumpRx.gov as cornerstones of a push to lower costs. In the same section of the speech, the President also pledged that his administration would “always protect Social Security, Medicare, [and] Medicaid.”

Moments later, the President pivoted sharply to program integrity, highlighting the administration’s recent engagement with Minnesota and asserting that an estimated $19 billion in taxpayer funds had been “pillaged,” before naming California, Massachusetts, and Maine as states that are “even worse.” He then formally announced a “war on fraud” to be led by Vice President J.D. Vance, arguing that recovering enough improper spending could “have a balanced budget overnight.”

The following day, Vice President Vance and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz formally rolled out the administration’s fraud-prevention push under the banner of the Comprehensive Regulations to Uncover Suspicious Healthcare (CRUSH) initiative. CMS framed CRUSH as a nationwide call for stakeholders and the public to help strengthen oversight and identify new tools to deter bad actors before improper payments occur. Shortly thereafter, CMS published a Request for Information (RFI) seeking feedback on potential regulatory and policy changes that could be included in future CRUSH rulemaking. (ANCOR)