Going where the money is, aides to Elon Musk are now focused on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as they seek to root out waste and fraud in the federal government.
Musk is the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory group created by President Donald Trump to launch intrusive investigations into the operations of the federal bureaucracy and agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has come under fire for its free-spending ways.
As an outside agency, DOGE does not make policy decisions but offers ammunition to Trump appointees, who then use its data to close loopholes, increase efficiency, and reduce waste.
A report in the Wall Street Journal, citing sources it did not name, said DOGE analysts have burrowed their way into key systems that involve Medicare and Medicaid payments and contracting.
Musk acknowledged the report in a post on social media platform X.
“Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening,” Musk wrote in response to a poster who wrote, “The motherlode is now being tapped for the first, but not the last, time. This is where the real big savings are.”
Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening https://t.co/jXqXrlKDGp
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2025
The Journal report said that Musk’s analysts are “looking at the systems’ technology as well as the spending that flows through them, with a focus on pinpointing what they consider fraud or waste.”
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The agency doles out about $1.5 trillion in benefits through Medicare, which covers older and disabled Americans, and Medicaid, which serves low-income Americans.
An agency official said “two senior agency veterans who are leading the coordination with DOGE,” and that agency officials are “taking a thoughtful approach to see where there may be opportunities for more effective and efficient spending in line with meeting the goals of President Trump.”
DOGE has been working at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where they have gotten access to key payment and contracting systems.
Who thinks the waste and fraud found will be beyond staggering?#DOGE #Trump47 #Musk pic.twitter.com/tuBeu6CCNK
— Sandy (@SD73660) February 5, 2025
DOGE is given “read-only,” access, the Journal’s source said, which means it cannot alter information, only view it.
A September report from the General Accounting Office put Medicare and Medicaid at the top of its list of agencies where fraud or improper payments were taking place.
The report said that between $233 billion and $521 billion per year is wasted due to fraud or improper payments.
I’ve been beating this drum for years. The amount of Medicaid fraud I’ve seen first hand working in non-profit over 15 years is insane! A complete exploitation of the poor. Clean it out @DOGE https://t.co/ateOvClebr
— Valerie Harkins (@veeharkins) February 5, 2025
The report estimated that Medicare gets taken for about $51 billion in fraud while Medicaid fraud and improper payments cost taxpayers about $50 billion.
The report noted that high levels of fraud and improper payments in Medicare and Medicaid have been raised by the GAO since 2018.
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