Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has delivered a stunning revelation about a Biden-era program that effectively authorized the payment of fraudulent claims with American taxpayer dollars. Under former Secretary Xavier Becerra, the department operated a system known as “pay and chase.” Officials knew certain invoices were fraudulent or highly suspicious, yet the policy required them to pay the claims first and attempt to recover the money later. In reality, almost none of those funds were ever clawed back, allowing vast sums to flow out the door unchecked. Kennedy called the approach a direct betrayal of every hardworking American taxpayer who funds these programs.

Kennedy wasted no time shutting the system down after taking office. The new policy requires HHS to scrutinize every claim for signs of fraud before any payment is released. This shift replaces the old reactive model with a proactive “detect and prevent” strategy that stops improper payments at the source. Career staff previously told Kennedy they had been instructed to prioritize enrollment numbers over fraud prevention, which opened the floodgates to waste. By restoring rigorous upfront review, the Trump administration is finally putting taxpayer protection first.

The scale of the problem under the prior approach was staggering. Kennedy has described how the program integrity office was gutted, leaving almost no capacity to police the system effectively. Billions in potential fraud were left unchallenged while the government continued writing checks. The decision to pay first and hope for recovery later proved to be a failure that enriched bad actors at the public’s expense. Ending that practice marks a decisive return to accountability and common-sense stewardship of federal health funds.

American taxpayers deserve a government that refuses to rubber-stamp suspicious claims. Kennedy’s cancellation of the pay-and-chase model sends a clear message that fraud will no longer be treated as an acceptable cost of doing business. The change strengthens the integrity of Medicare, Medicaid, and other critical programs that millions of families rely on. Under this administration, every dollar is now subject to real scrutiny before it leaves the Treasury.