Final answer:
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal agency responsible for overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, and other Health and Human Services programs to combat waste, fraud, and abuse.
Step-by-step explanation:
The federal agency charged with fighting waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, and 300 other Health and Human Services programs is the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Therefore, the correct answer to the student's question is option (c) CMS. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), while responsible for protecting public health, does not directly manage Medicare or Medicaid. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) focus on public health and disease control and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is concerned with medical research, neither are charged with the oversight of Medicare or Medicaid specifically.