Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency has secured access to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according a report Wednesday. The extent of the access and the systems involved are yet to be clarified.
What Happened: DOGE representatives have been granted access to key payment and contract systems, reported Wall Street Journal. However, the CMS has not provided any clarification on this matter.
Musk said on X that “big money fraud” was taking place at the CMS on Wednesday in response to another user sharing the story..
The CMS confirmed the collaboration with DOGE, mentioning two senior agency veterans leading the collaboration and ensuring appropriate access to CMS systems and technology, according to the Journal.
DOGE’s focus on CMS aligns with its mandate to cut at least $1 trillion in federal spending. The CMS, which spent over $1.5 trillion in 2024, is often criticized for fraudulent and wasteful spending. Musk expressed his interest in the health agency, hinting at potential fraud in Medicare spending.
Musk’s representatives had reportedly yet to access sensitive databases that include identifiable personal health information of people enrolled in both Medicaid and Medicare. The access given to DOGE representatives was “read-only.”
See Also: Trump Administration Softens Gaza Takeover Proposal As Middle East Allies Reject Plan
Why It Matters: DOGE’s access to CMS comes in the wake of Trump’s Medicaid cuts. In January it was reported that the GOP was pushing for big changes to Medicaid, which serves 79 million low-income or disabled Americans.
Later that month, the White House ordered a temporary freeze on all federal grants and loans, putting $3 trillion in funding under scrutiny. This move threatened a wide range of industries, including healthcare. Benzinga reported that all federal agencies were required to halt disbursements while programs were reviewed for alignment with Trump’s policy priorities.
Soon after the freeze was announced the Medicaid website stopped functioning, but the White House later attributed that to an “outage.” The executive branch of the government said that no payments had been affected.
The Department of Government Efficiency shares its acronym with Dogecoin DOGE/USD, the cryptocurrency frequently mentioned in Musk’s posts on X.
Price Action: At the time of writing, DOGE traded 2.7% lower at $0.26, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Image via Shutterstock
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Shivdeep Dhaliwal
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