Dr. Mehmet Oz traveled to Maine on Monday, ostensibly to investigate possible fraud in the state’s Medicaid and Medicare programs.

However, state officials say they were not made aware of the director of the U.S. Medicare & Medicaid Service’s trip, and did not meet with him.

Instead, Oz met with a conservative media outlet, The Maine Wire, and former Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who is running for congress in Maine’s 2nd Congressional district.

Oz mentioned his trip at a news conference in Philadelphia on Tuesday focused on the Trump administration’s efforts to combat fraud nationally. He said a federal review found that 90% of the home care services billed for adults with disabilities had “no justifiable backup.”

CMS did not respond to questions on Tuesday about Oz’s visit.

While there has been talk about possible fraud in Maine, especially in conservative media circles, the administration has yet to formally announce any significant findings of fraud here.

A spokesperson for Gov. Janet Mills said state officials were not informed of Oz’s visit and did not comment further.

A spokesperson for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services said the state is cooperating with the the federal government. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General identified nearly $47 million in improper Medicaid payments for autism services in an audit released in January.

Maine DHHS spokesperson Lindsay Hammes said the federal audit did not include any findings or allegations of fraud — only potential documentation and compliance issues that the state is reviewing.

“The report does not question the appropriateness or necessity of services, nor does it allege intentional wrongdoing by providers or the State,” Hammes said in a written statement on Tuesday.

Hammes questioned Oz’s claims that there was no justification for “nine out of 10 services.”

“Although the Department’s review is ongoing, our preliminary findings do not support the claim that 90% of services were inappropriately paid,” Hammes said.

While in Maine, Oz apparently spent time with The Maine Wire, whose editor-in-chief, Steve Robinson, was a featured speaker at Vice President JD Vance’s anti-fraud event in Bangor in May. The outlet posted videos on social media of Oz speaking with reporter John Fetherston outside of a shuttered service provider.

LePage also posted a video featuring Oz on social media.

“I’m so concerned (about) what’s happening in our state with fraud in the Medicaid system,” LePage said, with Oz by his side. “And actually in the (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) system and all the federal government programs that we need here in the state.”

Oz has said that fraud exploded during COVID-19 pandemic. He said costs for home care services for people with autism and intellectual disabilities has increased six-fold since LePage left the Blaine House in 2019.

“What I’m seeing in Maine chills me,” Oz said in the video. “We think there might be $100 million owed back to us just in that little bit of the program — that is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Matt Dunlap, a Democrat who is running against LePage in the 2nd District, blasted Oz’s suggestion of fraud without providing evidence. As state auditor, Dunlap flagged concerns over financial controls in MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program.

“Incredible,” Dunlap said on X. “A celebrity TV doctor who got rich pushing miracle cures is now lying about Mainers on Medicaid and making up numbers — a scare tactic so he and Paul LePage can gut Medicaid and rip coverage from working families and our kids.