LOS ANGELES — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has aimed at a federal health official with a civil rights complaint, igniting a firestorm over allegations of discrimination in a recent video.
On Thursday evening, Newsom announced his office filed a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services against Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator. The action stems from a video of Oz’s visit to Los Angeles, where he documented alleged fraud in the Van Nuys neighborhood, linking it to a Russian-Armenian syndicate. Newsom’s office claims Oz’s statements risk discouraging Armenian community members from participating in hospice and home care programs and have already harmed an Armenian bakery featured in the footage.
The issue has sparked heated debate over free speech, accountability, and the role of identity politics in public policy disputes.
According to Just the News, Newsom’s office didn’t hold back, accusing Oz of making unfounded and prejudiced remarks in his video. “Our office is reviewing reports that Dr. Mehmet Oz targeted the Armenian American community in Southern California recently — making racially charged claims of fraud outside Armenian-owned businesses, including a popular bakery,” the statement on X declared. But let’s be honest—jumping to “discrimination” labels often smells like a political maneuver to silence tough conversations about real fraud issues.
In the video, Oz pointed to a tight four-block radius in Van Nuys housing 42 hospices, hinting at widespread deceit. He also mentioned a staggering $3.5 billion in hospice and home care fraud in Los Angeles, alleging “quite a bit of it” was tied to specific organized groups. While CMS hasn’t verified these claims, dismissing them outright as bias feels like dodging the underlying problem.
Newsom’s team argues Oz’s words have caused tangible damage, including lost business for an Armenian bakery shown in the video. They claim it’s already deterring community trust in health programs. Yet, isn’t the real issue whether fraud exists, not just who gets offended by the messenger?
Oz’s focus on Armenian script on signs and his comments about insufficient attention to these issues in California have fueled the controversy. His background, with parents who immigrated from Turkey—a nation with a historically tense relationship with Armenia, including the Armenian genocide under the Ottoman Empire—adds a layer of sensitivity. But using historical grievances to shut down fraud probes risks prioritizing feelings over facts.
California, under Newsom’s leadership, has tackled hospice fraud by revoking over 280 licenses and halting new ones since 2022, a point the governor raised on social media to counter Oz. Yet, if billions in fraud persist as alleged, clearly more needs to be done beyond press releases. Pointing fingers at cultural insensitivity won’t fix broken systems.
The public spat between Newsom and Oz played out on social media, with both sides digging in. While Newsom’s office insists no form of hate belongs in California, one wonders if this zeal for political correctness distracts from addressing the core accusations. Fraud doesn’t care about cultural optics—it just drains taxpayer dollars.
Oz referenced a business tied to a $16 million fraud scheme in his video, pushing the narrative of organized deceit. But with CMS and Oz himself not yet responding to requests for comment from The Associated Press, the silence leaves room for speculation. Shouldn’t the focus be on verifying these numbers rather than policing speech?
Newsom’s complaint suggests Oz’s remarks could chill Armenian participation in vital health services, a serious concern if true. Yet, the rush to file a federal grievance feels like a performative gesture, more about scoring points than solving problems. Real harm deserves real solutions, not virtue-signaling lawsuits. Historical tensions between Armenia and Turkey undeniably shape perceptions here, given Oz’s family roots. But weaponizing that history to discredit fraud allegations sidesteps the need for hard data on whether these hospices are legitimate. Let’s investigate the claims, not the claimant’s ancestry.
As reported by Natalia Mittelstadt on January 30, 2026, at 12:11 PM, this clash highlights broader questions about how public officials handle sensitive topics. Fraud in health care is a scourge that demands exposure, even if the conversation gets messy. Stifling it with civil rights complaints risks burying the truth under bureaucratic fluff.
California’s Armenian community deserves respect, no question, but so do taxpayers footing the bill for potential scams. If Oz’s $3.5 billion fraud figure holds water, that’s the scandal to chase, not his choice of words. Prioritizing outrage over audits is how problems fester.
Ultimately, this feud underscores a deeper divide between tackling systemic issues and pandering to progressive sensibilities. Newsom’s quick trigger on discrimination claims might play well on X, but it won’t clean up fraud. Let’s demand investigations into hospices, not endless culture-war skirmishes.