Former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said she is concerned with the speed at which Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is scrapping federal programs to cut costs.
“I think that certainly looking at payments is absolutely OK, but you need to make sure that you’re doing it with knowledge about what these programs do and a real understanding that if you make a tweak here, you can really have a significant effect on people, because this is real money,” Brooks-LaSure said Wednesday at a health care event hosted by Politico.
Her remarks come as DOGE officials seek to access various federal agencies and departments, including CMS’s parent department, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
DOGE’s actions have Democrats sounding alarm bells, as they argue the moves from the unelected Musk are threatening Americans’ livelihoods and making unnecessary and unconstitutional cuts.
Earlier this month, Musk said he believes Medicare payment systems are where “the big money fraud is happening.” It comes as Republicans in the House are poised to slash Medicare funds, despite concern from more moderate members.
Brooks-LaSure noted that its common for new administrations to be responsible for Medicare and Medicaid spending. It was something she, during her time leading the agency under the Biden administration, “certainly” took “very seriously.”
She highlighted her time under the Biden administration examining payments to Medicare Advantage plans, which have been reported to be overpaid billions every year, Politico reported.
Those programs, Brooks-LaSure said, are complicated and “you really have to make sure you understand what you are doing if you make a change to payments” and not cutting people’s ability to receive medical care.
Under DOGE’s federal restructuring, many probationary employees were fired at CMS, which Brooks-LaSure called “damaging.”
“Indiscriminately firing people based on their status being temporary, without regard to what they do, is incredibly damaging,” she said.
