Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna was on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing from CNBC host Joe Kernen Thursday after calling Medicare and Social Security “efficient.”
President Donald Trump appointed Leland Dudek, the head of the Social Security Administration’s anti-fraud office, as acting head of the agency Feb. 18 after Michelle King resigned following a clash with Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees. Kernen said he had pointed out that cutting “fraud, waste and abuse” was a “bipartisan” issue in a post on X, prompting Khanna to defend the programs.
“Oh, there’s certain things that are not inefficient. Medicare, Social Security,” Khanna said, prompting an incredulous Kernen to ask, “What?”
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“Medicare is not ine—come on. Are you out of your mind? Medicare?” Kernan continued. “And I’m not saying it’s Medicare’s fault, necessarily. There are in — look around and look at the way Medicare is gamed out by the people that benefit from it or Medicaid. I think Medicare Advantage might be one of the things that we’re talking about. Right, Ro?”
Over the years, many prominent instances of Medicare fraud has occurred, including one case where the program was defrauded to the tune of over $1 billion by two Puerto Rico-based health plans between 2007 and 2010. Last year, a hospital run by a company tied to James Biden, the brother of former President Joe Biden, was investigated for a fraud and kickback scheme involving Medicare.
A July 2023 audit showed the Social Security database had nearly 19 million people born before 1920 who did not have any death information listed. An August 2024 audit showed SSA made at least $72 billion in improper payments while improvements from the office’s inspector general were not implemented.
DOGE’s actions to eliminate waste and fraud while reducing the size and scope of the federal government have been challenged in court, with a federal judge recently blocking the agency from reviewing Social Security data to uncover fraud. Other courts have allowed DOGE to carry out its efforts.
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