In a stunning revelation, Elon Musk has claimed that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has wasted an estimated $100 billion in taxpayer money.
Leading efforts under President Donald Trump’s newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk and his team have been investigating CMS’s payment and contracting systems, which oversee healthcare funding for millions of Americans.
Musk’s findings come after a deep dive into CMS operations by DOGE in collaboration with two senior agency veterans specializing in policy and operations.
The agency, which manages Medicare and Medicaid, provides health insurance to roughly one in four Americans. The investigation, conducted with read-only access to CMS systems, aimed to identify inefficiencies and potential misuse of federal funds.
On Wednesday, Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice his concerns, responding to reports suggesting that his team was examining Medicare payment systems for fraud. “Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening,” Musk posted, fueling speculation about widespread financial mismanagement.
The bombshell claim came on Thursday night when Musk tweeted, “They wasted $100B of taxpayer money!” His statement has sparked intense debate, with critics demanding transparency and further scrutiny of CMS spending.
CMS processes over one billion Medicare claims annually, conducts hospital and nursing home inspections, and distributes billions in Medicaid matching funds to states. However, recent investigations have highlighted significant issues within the agency.
Between June and October 2024, CMS suspended 850 agents and brokers for allegedly engaging in fraudulent or abusive activities, including unauthorized enrollments and plan switches. These individuals are now barred from participating in Marketplace enrollments and receiving commissions.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has also been actively prosecuting healthcare fraud. In June 2024, federal authorities charged 193 individuals—including 76 medical professionals—in connection with fraudulent schemes totaling $2.75 billion in false claims.
Since 2007, the DOJ’s Health Care Fraud Unit has prosecuted over 5,400 defendants accused of illegally billing Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers for more than $27 billion.
The scale of these fraudulent activities has only grown in recent years, with losses per case reaching record highs.
Musk’s revelations raise critical questions about the effectiveness of government oversight in healthcare spending. With Medicare serving 68 million Americans and Medicaid covering another 73 million, ensuring financial integrity is crucial to protecting taxpayer dollars.
As DOGE continues its audit, the findings could pave the way for significant reforms within CMS. Whether these efforts result in policy changes or increased regulatory scrutiny remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the issue of government waste in healthcare has been thrust into the national spotlight.