Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has infiltrated the core systems of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as part of its mission to identify fraud and waste in government programs.
The CMS, the federal agency that manages Medicare and Medicaid, said Wednesday that DOGE representatives have been working on-site reviewing the agency’s payment and contracting systems. Medicare is for older and disabled Americans, and Medicaid covers low-income individuals. Together, these programs cover over 140 million people nationwide.
According to CMS, two senior agency veterans are overseeing the collaboration, ensuring DOGE representatives receive appropriate access to systems and technology. The agency emphasized that the goal is to explore more efficient resource utilization while maintaining operational integrity.
The development, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, revealed that DOGE representatives have been analyzing CMS’s technological infrastructure, spending patterns, and potential inefficiencies. They are also reviewing the agency’s organizational structure and staffing to determine if reforms are necessary.
In his new role, Musk was appointed by President Donald Trump to spearhead government efficiency initiatives and has received major powers over the different federal agencies. On X, Musk posted to his millions of followers the following: “This is where the big money fraud is happening, alleged without evidence, towards CMS, which is said to be a center of financial fraud.
While DOGE representatives have been provided with access to CMS’s Acquisition Lifecycle Management system, which stores contract-related information, they don’t have any access to Medicare or Medicaid’s personally identifiable health information. It has been limited to “read-only” and therefore can’t be modified.
The White House made a defense of DOGE’s involvement, saying this’s when Musk and his team are meeting Trump’s promise of increasing government accountability. The U.S. Treasury has also confirmed that DOGE has “read-only” access to payment system codes but has negated its effects on government payments such as Social Security or Medicare disbursements.
CMS frequently addresses improper payments. These can arise from fraud, administrative errors, or state-level mismanagement. The degree of DOGE’s impact on changing policy is unclear, but its involvement through Musk represents a monumental shift in the federal oversight landscape.
As Musk continues his assessment of government activities, critics and watchdog groups are likely to study the impact of his team’s findings and the potential recommendations that could reform one of the nation’s largest healthcare programs.
