Feb. 6 (UPI) — Representatives of Elon Musk’s new federal agency have access to payments and contracting information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the healthcare coverage to more than one third of Americans.
Musk, who is worth around half a trillion dollars, was appointed by President Donald Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency shortly after he won the Nov. 5 election.
“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,” CMS said in a statement Wednesday to media sites, including CNN and USA Today. “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.”
Government outlays, including waste
Musk said Wednesday that he believes CMS is rife with problems.
“Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening,” he said on X, which he owns.
More than $100 billion in improper Medicare and Medicaid payments were made in 2023, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The $51.5 billion with Medicare and $21 billion with Medicaid represent 43% of all improper payments in the government.
The Wall Street Journal story first reported DOGE’s work at the agency with access to payment and contracting systems but it has not yet received access to databases containing identifiable health information about Medicare and Medicaid enrollees.
The agency disbursed $1.5 trillion in outlays in fiscal year 2024, about 22% of total federal spending. Musk has vowed to cut between $1 trillion and $2 trillion from the federal budget. Much of that budget is for Social Security, Medicaid, military and debt payments.
Medicare, the federal health program for adults 65 and over and the disabled, has about 66 million people while Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program covers nearly 80 million. About 12 million receive Medicare and Medicare.
Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head HHS and Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former famous television host, to lead CMS. They haven’t been confirmed by the U.S. Senate yet.
DOGE
Despite its name, DOGE is not a federal department but a Temporary Organization to be terminated July 4, 2026.
Since it was formed by Trump via a Jan. 20 executive order, it has attracted much controversy, criticism and litigation.
Musk’s agency has access to systems at the Treasury Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
It has been sued by federal employee unions over its access to the Treasury as well as over its formation, while several lawsuits state violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which establishes protections to prevent advisory committees from being inaccessible to the public, biased and partial.
It has received staunch Democratic pushback over its effective shuttering of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has described the organization as “an unelected shadow government” that is “conducting a hostile takeover of the government.
Protests
On Wednesday, protests were staged across the country against Trump’s rule of the government by executive order and Musk’s involvement as an unelected official.
In Los Angeles, UPI photographed protesters at City Hall waving signs calling for Musk to be arrested and deported. Other signs accused him of having “hijacked” the U.S. government.
“No one elected Elon Musk,” one states. “Elon Musk is a terrible president,” states another.
Musk’s money from government
In 2024, Musk’s SpaceX received at least $3.8 billion in government contracts, USA Today reported.
And his Tesla electric motor and clean energy company has received at least $2.8 billion in federal, state and local grants and tax credits since 2009, according to Good Jobs First.