450 Hospice Providers Shut Down in California, Not a Single One Called to Say Anything: Dr. Oz [WATCH]

Dr. Mehmet Oz said payments to hundreds of hospice providers in California have been halted as part of an effort to address fraud, describing the scope of the action and the response from those affected during an exchange with Katie Pavlich.

Oz said the decision involved a large number of providers and a significant amount of funding tied to hospice services in the state.

“We, and I’ll make this announcement your show, we have stopped payments to 450 hospices in California. Guess what? Not one has called us asking to reinstitute them. They may change their minds over time, but in 10 weeks, we’ve shut down 450 payment systems to these guys that’s representing at least 600-700, $700 million just this year, and no one’s complaining because they know they got caught.”

He described the lack of response from providers as notable, saying it reflected awareness among those involved that their activities would eventually be identified.

“And that’s sort of the scary part about the system. When you knock on their door and say, Hey, we’re here. I did that with the US Attorney Bill Essayli in in Los Angeles, when we went in with the SWAT team, these guys don’t fight back. They know they bought multi million dollar mansions, in these posh neighborhoods. They’ve got beautiful cars, lots of them all bought, bought with ill gotten gains made from defrauding the American taxpayer.”

Oz said that when confronted, individuals involved in the activity do not challenge enforcement actions.

“When they’re caught, they don’t argue. They knew it might happen one day. They’re sort of surprised that we came for them, but my message for them is very clear, don’t walk run away, because we’re coming for you.”

The discussion also turned to a separate topic involving a comment Oz said President Donald Trump made during a conversation aboard Air Force One. Katie Pavlich raised the question during the exchange.

“Before you go, we have to ask you about this, you shared a story recently about President Trump telling you that diet soda kills cancer cells. So do we all have the cure to cancer in our fridge?”

Oz said the comment was made in jest and should not be interpreted as medical advice. He described the context of the conversation and said it occurred during a discussion in which he had been advising the president.

“He was kidding me. Actually, he was making fun of me because I was giving him a hard time. We were in the front of Air Force One, and we were talking about something. I noticed that he had a soft drink on his desk because I gave him, as I often do, a little nudge.”

Oz recounted the remark and said it was intended humorously.

“And he said, you know, as you’re too tough on me, you know, this stuff, if I poured it on grass, it would kill the grass. What does that mean? Maybe he kills Cancer cells. He’s kidding. I mean, actually, he’s earnestly funny human being and a very empathetic one, and he’s a fabulous boss.”

He added that the story had been shared in conversation with Donald Trump Jr. and that the reaction to the anecdote led to additional questions.

“And I was sharing that story with his son, Don Jr, and both of us, I think, are still sort of surprised a week later, we’re getting serious questions from serious journalists who I normally respect about this issue.”

Oz concluded by clarifying that beverages should not be viewed as medical treatments.

“Once again, do not drink Diet Coke, Pepsi, or, frankly, any beverage with the belief it is going to cure cancer.”

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