Hey everybody, welcome back. To the Elon Musk Podcast.
This is a show where we discuss. The Critical.
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Tesla X The Boring Company. And Neurolink.
I'm your host, Will Walden. How exactly is Elon Musk's
Department of Government efficiency getting access to
sensitive federal systems, and what impact could this have on
Medicare and Medicaid funding? And also, why are career
government employees sounding the alarm right now?
Let's break it down and see what happens inside US health
agencies as DOGE officials move in, gaining access to key
financial systems. Now, In recent days,
representatives of Musk's DOGE have visited multiple federal
health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the CDC in Atlanta, and the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services CMS, according to five people familiar with the
matter. DOGE officials have requested
access to payment and contracting systems, which
handle hundreds of billions of dollars in annual healthcare
payments. Now, the Wall Street Journal
previously reported that some of these requests have been
granted, allowing DOGE personal access to CMS's grant management
system. Elon Musk himself appeared to
acknowledge Doge's focus on federal healthcare spending,
writing on X that Medicare is quote, where the big money fraud
is happening now. He did not provide specific
evidence to support his claim. In response to the growing
involvement of DOGE officials, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon
stated in an e-mail that 2 senior CMS officials, one
responsible for policy, another for operations, are overseeing
Doge's collaboration. Now, Nixon said, the department
is assessing, quote, where there may be opportunities for more
effective and efficient use of resources in line with meeting
the goals of President Trump. Now the Department of Health and
Human Services. The HHS is responsible for
nearly $2 trillion in annual spending, much of it on Medicare
and Medicaid. In these programs have long been
scrutinized by both lawmakers and dependent watchdogs for
potential fraud and waste. Now, Musk, along with his former
Doge partner Vivek from Swami, has previously spoken about
targeting healthcare spending as part of the broader plan to cut
at least $1 trillion from federal expenditures.
However, past attempts to reduce Medicare costs have often
sparked backlash from healthcare providers and advocacy groups
concerned about the impact of patient care.
Doge's efforts to gain access to financial systems extend beyond
health agencies. Over the weekend, Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent authorized a DOGE representative
to access a crucial federal payment system that disperses
trillions of dollars annually. Bessent later clarified that the
access was limited to read only status and that the DOGE
representative had been formally appointed as a Treasury
official. Now, Musk's allies have also
taken on key roles within the Office of Personal Management
and other government agencies. Some career government employees
are increasingly concerned that Doge is bypassing standard
procedures designed to protect sensitive data.
One primary fear is that DOGE officials who are not long term
civil servants may not be subject to the same oversight as
career government workers. That while Musk and President
Trump have defended these actions as necessary for rooting
out waste, others questioned whether DOGE is circumventing
established safeguards now. Concerns about improper payments
in Medicare and Medicaid are not new, though, Avec Roy, who's the
founder of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity,
pointing to long standing bipartisan concerns about waste
in these programs. They said nonpartisan experts
have long believed that more than 10% of Medicare and
Medicaid spending is improper. It's essential to identify and
root out these improper payments in order to direct more funding
to patient care for seniors and vulnerable populations, Roy
said. Now, a report from the
Government Accountability Office, the GAO, in April 2024
found that Medicare and Medicaid accounted for over 40% of
improper payments across the federal government.
Now, the GAO estimated that these programs were responsible
for more than $100 billion in erinus payments in 2023 alone.
Now, while efforts to reduce fraud are widely supported, the
extent of Doge's authority and its methods for addressing the
issue remain unclear. Now, DOGE officials have also
sought access to specific federal financial systems,
including the Unified Financial Management System at the
Healthcare Integrated General Ledger Accounting System, or
High Glass. Now, High Glass contains
financial information for hospitals, physicians, and other
healthcare providers that receive payments from Medicare,
Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act.
This database is considered highly sensitive as it tracks
nearly all federal healthcare payments.
Now, accessing these systems typically requires specialized
training under the health insurance portability and
accountability actor HIPAA to ensure compliance with privacy
protections. It is not yet known whether DOGE
officials have undergone this training or if they have been
granted full access to the systems.
Some current and former government officials have raised
concerns about potential violations of privacy laws if
untrained personnel are handling sensitive data now.
Beyond financial systems, though, DOGE has also made
personnel related inquiries at the CDC.
DOGE officials have requested lists of employees with less
than a year of service, as well as those in their two year
probationary periods. The purpose of these requests
has not been made clear, but some federal employees have
interpreted as an attempt to assess which staff members could
be more easily removed or reassigned.
Now, Doge's reach is not limited to health agencies, though.
At the Department of Labor, senior leaders have informed
staffers responsible for handling sensitive data that
they will soon be working with DOGE.
And according to a Labor Department employee who spoke on
the condition of anonymity, these new DOGE related
assignments will take precedent over the Staffs usual
responsibilities. The collaboration is set to
begin with an initial meeting, which was originally scheduled
to take place in person but was later shifted to a virtual
format. Now, the decision to move the
meeting online came after labor unions, including the AFLCIO,
announced a protest against DOGE outside the Labor Department.
Union leaders have expressed concerns that Doge's involvement
could lead to workforce reductions, policy changes or
reduced oversight of work protections.
The Labor Department overseas critical data related to
unemployment claims, disability insurance, workplace safety
investigations, wage theft and child labor violations.
It also enforces whistleblower protections across multiple
industries, including food safety, aviation and nuclear
energy Remains unclear exactly which Labor Department records
DOGE intends to access. Some federal employees worried
the Doge's push for efficiency could come at the expense of
regulatory enforcement, potentially weakening
protections for workers. Others argue that scrutinizing
agency operations is a necessary step towards eliminating
efficiencies in government spending.
And while the full impact of Doge's efforts remain uncertain,
the group's rapid expansion into key federal agencies has raised
questions about transparency, oversight and the long term
consequences for government operations.
But for now, agencies and officials and watchdog groups
are monitoring the situation closely to see exactly how much
access DOGE ultimately gains and how it chooses to use it, and if
they use it illegally. Hey, thank you so much for
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