WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to protect Medicare and Medicaid from cuts and mischief after unelected billionaire Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force accessed sensitive payment records, a group of 32 U.S. Senators, including Jack Reed (D-RI ) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging his administration not to cut people’s health care to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.
The letter follows news reports that DOGE officials gained access to key payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS). CMS administers Medicare and Medicaid. In 2024, 68 million seniors and people with disabilities – including about 214,000 Rhode Islanders — relied on Medicare coverage for essential health care, including hospital visits, screenings for cancer, diabetes, and depression, and prescription drugs.
Medicare is a federal health insurance program that covers people age 65 and older and younger adults with long-term disabilities.
Nearly 80 million Americans – including about 317,000 Rhode Islanders are enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), making it the largest public health insurance program in the United States.
Medicaid covers more than 40 percent of births in the United States. The program offers essential health coverage to people who otherwise couldn’t afford health care, including seniors on fixed incomes, pregnant women, families with young children, and Americans with disabilities. And in addition to covering services Americans rely on to remain healthy, go to school, and thrive at work, Medicaid also provides essential coverage for mental health and addiction and recovery treatment.
The 32 U.S. Senators wrote: “We write to say no to Elon Musk and DOGE, and demand hands off Medicare or Medicaid. We strongly oppose any efforts by Musk – or anyone else in your administration – cutting or damaging these vital programs. Medicare and Medicaid must not be raided to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Every cut risks Americans paying more, waiting longer, and wading through more insurance red tape for care. Every cut risks hospitals and community health centers struggling harder to keep their doors open and forcing health providers and workers out of their jobs.
“We continue to fight for a health care system that works better for all Americans, so they experience lower costs, shorter wait times, and receive better care,” the lawmakers continued. “But your Administration, Elon Musk, and DOGE have already made that harder. Your Administration is already responsible for the shut-down of Medicaid portals across all 50 states, disruptions to vital health care communication, closures of community health centers, and significant delays in funding for life-saving health research. Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will only serve to deepen the harm.”
The Senators urged: “It is dangerously unacceptable that an unelected Musk and his unqualified acolytes have access to sensitive CMS systems and are ready to bypass Congress to make life and death decisions affecting millions of Americans. No one asked for this lawless approach to our critical government health care systems. We urge you to stop this threat to Americans’ health care, now.”
In addition to Reed and Whitehouse the letter is signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senators Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Full text of the letter follows:
February 12, 2025
President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Trump:
We write with alarm at recent actions by your Administration that put Medicare and Medicaid at risk – threatening access to care for 140 million Americans. On February 5, Elon Musk and representatives of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gained access to key payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that administers these vital programs. Masquerading as a false crusade against waste, fraud, and abuse, Musk appears intent to break the programs that seniors, people with disabilities, children, and families rely on to get their health care. We write to say no to Elon Musk and DOGE, and demand hands off Medicare or Medicaid. We strongly oppose any efforts by Musk – or anyone else in your administration – cutting or damaging these vital programs. Medicare and Medicaid must not be raided to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.
Medicare and Medicaid are lifelines for millions of Americans. In 2024, 68 million seniors and people with disabilities seniors relied on Medicare coverage for essential health care, including hospital visits, screenings for cancer, diabetes, and depression, and prescription drugs. Nearly 80 million Americans relied on Medicaid, making it the largest public health insurance program in the United States. Medicaid provides funding to states for services at nursing homes, hospitals, rural health clinics as well as home health services, addiction and mental health services, and family planning. Americans rely on Medicaid for pregnancy and childbirth, as well as long-term services and supports to care for people with disabilities, older adults, and chronically ill Americans.
But now, DOGE is invading CMS, posing immeasurable risks to Americans’ health care. DOGE representatives, with no training or expertise, could make unilateral, politically motivated decisions to target both beneficiaries and health care providers while blocking access to care and essential payments for services. Every cut risks Americans paying more, waiting longer, and wading through more insurance red tape for care. Every cut risks hospitals and community health centers struggling harder to keep their doors open and forcing health providers and workers out of their jobs.
We continue to fight for a health care system that works better for all Americans, so they experience lower costs, shorter wait times, and receive better care. But your Administration, Elon Musk, and DOGE have already made that harder. Your Administration is already responsible for the shut-down of Medicaid portals across all 50 states, disruptions to vital health care communication, closures of community health centers, and significant delays in funding for life-saving health research. Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will only serve to deepen the harm. It is dangerously unacceptable that an unelected Musk and his unqualified acolytes have access to sensitive CMS systems and are ready to bypass Congress to make life and death decisions affecting millions of Americans. No one asked for this lawless approach to our critical government health care systems. We urge you to stop this threat to Americans’ health care, now.
Sincerely,
