Republican New York attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy has made combating Medicaid fraud a central theme of her campaign, asserting that fraud prosecutions have substantially decreased under current Attorney General Letitia James.
Komatireddy stated in an interview with Fox News Digital that New York taxpayers may be losing hundreds of millions of dollars due to a lack of aggressive pursuit of Medicaid fraud cases. "They're totally failing to prosecute Medicaid fraud, and you can look at that based solely on the record of Letitia James and her Democratic predecessors," Komatireddy said. "This is not a partisan issue."
She cited data from the New York Attorney General's annual reports, indicating that Medicaid fraud recoveries have dropped from $168 million in 2019, James's first year in office, to $31 million in 2024. Komatireddy contrasted this with previous attorneys general, including Democrats like Eliot Spitzer and Andrew Cuomo, whose offices reportedly recovered hundreds of millions annually. "Even her Democratic predecessors used to bring in $200 to $300 million per year in fraudulent proceeds," Komatireddy said. "When Tish James comes into office, it goes down to $20 to $30 million per year. According to her own year-end reports, she's just decided not to do that part of the job."
During the same period that recoveries have decreased, New York's spending on its Medicaid fraud recovery program has risen, from approximately $45 million in fiscal year 2020 to $70 million in 2025.
Komatireddy also pointed to a decline in criminal convictions, stating that the New York Attorney General's office used to secure around 100 criminal convictions annually for Medicaid fraud. "Under Tish James, that number is very low. There's one year where she got eight criminal convictions," she alleged.
The state's approach to Medicaid fraud has drawn federal attention. Earlier this year, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul seeking more information on New York's provider screening and fraud prevention methods. New York was one of three states, along with California and Minnesota, to receive such a letter.
Komatireddy argued that reduced enforcement increases healthcare costs for New Yorkers and diverts funds from other essential state services. "It's New Yorkers who pay the price, because when people steal from Medicaid, that increases our healthcare costs," she said. "When we are just letting a billion dollars go out the door over the course of her term, that's money that we could be getting back as taxpayers."
Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor, has pledged to bolster the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit by hiring 20 additional criminal prosecutors if elected. She has positioned herself as a candidate with extensive law enforcement experience, contrasting her background with that of the incumbent.
The New York Attorney General's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.