Corporations, Not Immigrants, Are Driving Healthcare Fraud — And That Matters

For years, conservative politicians have pushed the idea that “fraudulent” immigrants are draining public resources, especially in programs like Medicare and Medicaid. This narrative has been used to justify harsh immigration crackdowns, cuts to social programs, and increased policing of already marginalized communities.

But a new report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), highlighted by The Intercept, tells a very different story: the overwhelming bulk of healthcare fraud is being committed not by immigrants, but by corporations and professional operators in the healthcare industry. The report doesn’t even mention immigrants.

This matters because it exposes a central political strategy of the Trump-era right (and its ongoing influence today): weaponizing myths about immigrants to distract from the rampant abuses of corporate power. It’s not just about numbers on a spreadsheet. It’s about who gets blamed, who gets punished, and who gets protected in our healthcare system and our democracy.

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Background: What the OIG Report Actually Shows

The OIG is the internal watchdog for HHS, tasked with rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in federal healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Their reports are not partisan op-eds—they’re technical, data-driven assessments of where fraud is happening and who is responsible.

According to the analysis reported by The Intercept:

– The vast majority of healthcare fraud cases involve corporations, clinics, and professional healthcare providers—not individual patients, and certainly not immigrants as a group.
– These schemes often involve:
– Overbilling or “upcoding” (charging for more expensive services than were actually provided)
– Billing for services that never happened
– Kickback schemes between providers and intermediaries
– Corporate entities setting up shell operations to siphon off public funds
– The OIG report focuses on systemic abuses by organized actors within the healthcare industry, and does not identify immigrants as a significant source of fraud.

In other words, the watchdog that actually investigates fraud is pointing the finger at corporate and institutional players—while Trump-era officials and their allies have been pointing at immigrants.

This gap between rhetoric and reality is the heart of the story.

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How the Right Uses the “Immigrant Fraud” Myth

The Trump administration’s political strategy relied heavily on framing immigrants—especially undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers—as threats to public safety, economic stability, and the integrity of public programs. Healthcare was no exception.

Officials and right-wing media repeatedly suggested that immigrants were:

– “Abusing” emergency rooms and public hospitals
– Illegally accessing benefits
– Engaging in fraud that justified tighter restrictions and policing

But the OIG’s findings cut directly against that storyline. The report is about fraud in publicly funded healthcare—yet immigrants are not even mentioned.

That’s not an accident. It’s evidence that the immigrant-fraud narrative is primarily a political tool, not a reflection of reality. It redirects anger away from corporations and towards vulnerable people who have the least power in this system.

From a progressive perspective, this is a classic example of scapegoating: those at the top create or exploit a crisis, then blame marginalized communities for the fallout.

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Progressive Analysis: Follow the Money, Not the Myths

When you strip away the rhetoric and follow the evidence, a different picture emerges:

1. Healthcare fraud is structurally enabled
Fraud in Medicare and Medicaid doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s made possible by:
– A complex billing system that favors large, sophisticated actors
– Corporate consolidation that gives big players immense leverage and opacity
– Weak oversight and underfunded regulators who can’t keep up with massive corporate schemes

These are not the conditions under which individual immigrants—or even individual patients—could systematically siphon billions of dollars from public programs. This is corporate terrain.

2. Corporate crime is treated as a technical issue, not a moral crisis
When corporations commit fraud, it’s often framed as:
– A “compliance issue”
– A “billing error”
– A “settlement” to resolve “alleged misconduct”

Even when companies pay fines, they rarely admit guilt, and executives almost never face jail time. Meanwhile, poor people—especially Black, Brown, and immigrant communities—face aggressive policing and incarceration for far smaller offenses.

3. Scapegoating immigrants shields corporate power
By focusing public anger on immigrants, conservative officials:
– Distract from the role of corporate lobbyists in shaping a profit-driven healthcare system
– Avoid conversations about systemic reforms like universal healthcare, stronger regulation, or breaking up monopolies
– Maintain a status quo where corporations can quietly profit from public money while public rage is directed elsewhere

4. The real “fraud” is a healthcare system built for profit, not care
Fraud isn’t just about illegal billing; it’s about a system that:
– Treats healthcare as a commodity
– Incentivizes volume and profit over patient outcomes
– Allows private actors to treat public programs as revenue streams

From a progressive lens, this is the deeper scandal: we’ve designed a system where corporate extraction from public funds is normalized, and then we blame immigrants when the bill comes due.

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Why This Matters for Social Justice and Progressive Values

This story isn’t just about who’s committing fraud; it’s about whose lives and dignity are on the line.

1. It challenges racist and xenophobic narratives
The myth of “immigrant fraud” doesn’t just misinform—it justifies cruelty:
– Denying care to undocumented people
– Implementing “public charge” rules that punish immigrants for using basic services
– Fueling hate and violence against immigrant communities

Exposing the truth about corporate fraud undermines these narratives and opens space for a more honest conversation about who’s actually exploiting the system.

2. It highlights the need for corporate accountability
Progressives have long argued that:
– Corporate crime is under-prosecuted
– Regulatory agencies are underfunded and politically constrained
– Fines are often treated as a cost of doing business, not a deterrent

The OIG report reinforces the need to:
– Strengthen enforcement against corporate fraud
– Hold executives personally accountable
– Bar repeat offenders from participating in public programs

3. It connects healthcare justice to economic justice
Every dollar stolen from Medicare or Medicaid is a dollar not used for:
– Prescription drug coverage
– Home care and disability services
– Mental health and addiction support
– Rural hospitals and clinics

Corporate fraud deepens inequality by diverting resources away from the people who need them most and into the pockets of shareholders and executives.

4. It reinforces the case for universal, public healthcare
A fragmented, profit-driven system is fertile ground for fraud. A universal, publicly financed system:
– Simplifies billing
– Reduces the opportunities for complex corporate schemes
– Shifts the focus from profit to care

From a progressive perspective, this is another data point in favor of Medicare for All or similar universal models—not just to expand coverage, but to protect public funds from corporate abuse.

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What You Can Do and How to Stay Informed

You don’t need to be a policy expert to push back against myths and support real accountability.

1. Challenge the narrative
When you hear claims that immigrants are “draining” healthcare programs:
– Ask for evidence
– Point to watchdog reports like the OIG’s that highlight corporate fraud
– Emphasize that the government’s own data doesn’t support these claims

2. Support organizations fighting for healthcare justice
Get involved with or donate to groups that:
– Advocate for universal healthcare
– Monitor corporate abuses in healthcare
– Defend immigrant rights and combat xenophobia

Many local and national organizations connect these issues explicitly—because they are intertwined.

3. Demand stronger corporate accountability
Contact your representatives and push for:
– Increased funding for regulators and watchdogs like the OIG
– Stronger penalties and criminal liability for corporate fraud
– Transparency requirements for healthcare corporations that receive public funds

4. Stay informed through independent journalism
Mainstream coverage often repeats political talking points without scrutiny. Independent outlets like The Intercept play a crucial role in:
– Investigating what government reports actually say
– Connecting policy decisions to lived realities
– Exposing how power operates behind the scenes

Reading and sharing this kind of reporting helps shift the public conversation toward facts, not fear.

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The fight over who is blamed for healthcare fraud is really a fight over whose lives are valued and whose power is challenged. When immigrants are scapegoated while corporations quietly siphon billions from public programs, it’s not just dishonest—it’s a direct attack on justice, equality, and democracy.

Progressive politics demands that we look past the scapegoats and confront the real sources of abuse in our systems. This OIG report, and the coverage bringing it to light, is a reminder that if we want a fair and humane healthcare system, we have to hold corporations—not immigrants—accountable.

Read the original article here:
https://theintercept.com/2026/07/31/immigrants-healthcare-medicare-fraud-scam/

Photo by Daniel Romero on Unsplash