Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is the head of President Donald Trump‘s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is investigating Medicare in effort to expose and fix any fraud that may be happening within the program.
Newsweek has reached out to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for comment via email on Friday.
Why It Matters
Trump and Musk are looking to make widespread cuts to federal agencies in the first month of Trump’s presidency in what they say is an effort to save taxpayers money and end bureaucracy.
Opponents say this could put necessary government services at risk, including essential health care services like Medicare and Medicaid. However, Trump has said that Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security won’t be cut unless abuse is found.
What To Know
DOGE is looking to discover any possible fraud taking place within Medicare as well as investigate the program’s payment, contracting and technology systems in order to find any spending waste.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Musk, who owns the social media platform, wrote on Wednesday that Medicare is “where the big money fraud is happening.”
DOGE officials have been at the agency’s office this week during their investigation of the government-run health care program. The investigation is looking into data systems that manage the budget for Health and Human Services (HHS).
The CMS provide health insurance for roughly 25 percent of Americans. Last year, the agency spent $1.5 trillion, which makes up around 22 percent of federal spending.
While Medicare provides health insurance for around 68 million seniors and disabled Americans, Medicaid offers qualifying low-income Americans health insurance for around 73 million people.
Trump has also been looking to save the government money by downsizing the federal worker employee base. He recently offered a buyout offer for federal employees to leave their jobs, and so far, at least 20,000 have accepted. The president also issued a return to office order for all remaining federal employees.
What People Are Saying
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said in a statement: “CMS has two senior Agency veterans—one focused on policy and one focused on operations—who are leading the collaboration with DOGE, including ensuring appropriate access to CMS systems and technology. We are taking a thoughtful approach to see where there may be opportunities for more effective and efficient use of resources in line with meeting the goals of President Trump.”
Kevin Thompson, a finance expert and the founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek: “It’s no secret that Medicare fraud exists within our system. Just in 2024 alone, the DOJ found billions of dollars in fraudulent claims. DOGE is looking into the government database to root out possible cases of fraud and waste. Given the size of the Medicare system, there is a 100 percent likelihood they will uncover more instances of fraud and improprieties.”
Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “Obviously, DOGE having access to Medicare records is going to trigger some concerns from Americans who are currently under the program, but if the sole purpose for this investigation is to uncover fraud, it is certainly a worthy endeavor. Even the most conservative of estimates from past years have Medicare fraud accounting for tens of billions of dollars worth of losses. And with programs like Medicare constantly discussed in terms of future solvency, it’s important incidents of fraud are reduced as much as possible to ensure those funds go to the recipients who need them.”
What Happens Next?
Thompson said it’s likely DOGE will uncover improprieties related to reimbursements once the investigation is complete.
“This is an area of government spending that deserves closer scrutiny, as hospitals may be incentivized to overbill or perform unnecessary procedures simply because they know Medicare will cover the cost,” he said. “Many patients receive itemized bills with unexpectedly high charges, with either insurance providers or the government covering overpriced procedures. The push for transparency could help eliminate unnecessary markups and restore trust in the healthcare system.”
The post Why Is Elon Musk Investigating Medicare? What He’s Looking to Find appeared first on Newsweek.
