Padilla, Schiff Raise Alarm on Trump Administration Targeting Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid
Senators: “We write to say no to Elon Musk and DOGE, and demand hands off Medicare or Medicaid”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) joined Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and 27 other Democratic Senators in demanding President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) refrain from making cuts to Medicare and Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Their letter comes after Elon Musk and DOGE officials gained access to key payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS).
In 2025, roughly 160 million Americans will rely on the programs CMS administers and oversees, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Health Insurance Marketplaces.
Last year, 68 million seniors and people with disabilities — including 6.6 million Californians — 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. That includes 15 million people enrolled in California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, which covers almost a third of all adults and half of all kids in the state.
“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,” wrote the Senators. “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.”
“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,” continued the Senators. “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 Senators Padilla, Schiff, Markey, and Warren, the letter is also signed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Senators Padilla and Schiff have fought relentlessly against the Trump Administration’s dangerous attacks on the American health care system. Last week, Senators Padilla and Schiff joined Senators Klobuchar, Sanders, and 30 other Senators in calling on Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Dorothy Fink to end the unprecedented freeze on all external health communications and funding. After the Trump Administration paused crucial communications from federal health agencies last month, Senator Padilla joined Senator Schatz in introducing a resolution calling for uninterrupted health warning services for the American people.
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
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,
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