Episode #59 Deep Dive – HHS on Autopilot and the "Secret Plan" to Cut Entitlements
A deep dive into this week's episode of Paging America
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker addresses attendees at the Committee’s first Organizing Summit
››› RFK Jr. is “checked out” at HHS
The New York Times has an exclusive report out this week suggesting that RFK Jr. is so fixated on his pet projects that he’s largely absent from running the sprawling network of public health agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services:
Mr. Kennedy has shown little interest in managing the details of work in his department, according to multiple colleagues. Instead, they say, he is single-mindedly focused on his top priorities, including food recommendations and pesticide exposures, and hunting for evidence to support his long-held beliefs that vaccines are harmful. [...]
When he is in town, he exercises at his gym before work, then usually arrives at about 10 a.m. and leaves by 4 p.m., his colleagues say. He spends much of his day in closed-door meetings, according to those who work with him, and has little direct engagement with his staff.
Every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., the chiefs of the department’s 13 operating divisions gather in the secretary’s suite to update leadership on their activities. At the outset of his tenure, Mr. Kennedy was rarely there, either virtually or in person, according to three people familiar with his schedule…[H]e now shows up once a month [and] when he does attend, he often appears disengaged and spends the time scrolling on his phone, according to people in attendance. Several described him as “checked out.”
This may explain the administration’s tepid response to the ongoing measles, hantavirus, and Ebola outbreaks as well as the mass vacancies throughout HHS.
››› Speaking of RFK Jr.’s fixation on the dangers of vaccines…
CNN reports that Kennedy is seeking access to most Americans’ medical records, in a quest to research a link between vaccines and autism:
The Department of Health and Human Services is seeking data from little-known state systems that allow hospitals and clinics to exchange detailed, identifiable patient information, KFF Health News has learned.
In private meetings, some public health leaders have objected to giving Kennedy’s team access to such data, raising doubts that it’s legal or that the information would even be useful.
They have also expressed concerns about allowing the federal government to peer into the minutiae of Americans’ medical records, which could mean viewing anything from doctors’ notes to prescription history. HHS has offered no insight into how it will protect or handle the personal health information it obtains. [...]
He and his advisers have been frustrated that federal access to Americans’ medical records has been limited.
››› Kennedy’s promotion of raw milk is having the predictable result
Officials in Idaho are investigating how nearly 60 people got sick after drinking raw milk in the past two weeks. Via reporting from the Idaho Capital Sun:
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced in a news release on Wednesday that most of the people reported being sick after drinking raw milk from two different milking operations in North Idaho and southern Idaho. The infections were reported starting May 19.
The state health agency didn’t disclose the names of the dairies, but said they are collaborating with health officials “to identify and fix any potential sources of contamination.”
In a statement, Department of Health and Welfare spokesperson AJ McWhorter said the agency didn’t name the milking operations “because this is a potential risk for any raw milk producer.” [...]
Raw milk isn’t pasteurized, a process that involves heating the milk to kill bacteria — like Campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella — that can be present in raw milk.
So far, 45 of the people who got sick tested positive for campylobacteriosis, a bacterial infection. But officials say not everyone who got sick has been tested, and that more illnesses could be found.
In related news, ProPublica pulled back the curtain on one raw milk zealot who is profiting from Kennedy’s promotion of raw milk. The piece, titled “The Milkman”, spotlights Raw Farm founder Mark McAfee:
I had spent the past couple of weeks corresponding with Raw Farm founder Mark McAfee, who’d filled my inbox with messages and PowerPoints extolling the virtues of his most important, and controversial, product:
It is delicious.
It makes you feel good (the gut-brain serotonin and dopamine cycle).
It’s great for asthma and literally saves lives.
He was talking about raw milk, which, if you trust 150 years of bedrock science, offers little reason to consume…Today, most scientists and health experts agree that raw milk has no significant, proven nutritional benefits over its sanitized counterpart, cannot treat or cure disease and subjects its consumers to over 100 times the risk of foodborne illness, which can be especially dangerous for young children.
And yet, McAfee’s farm, the largest raw-milk dairy in the country, is pulling in about $30 million a year…More than 10 million Americans now drink it; national weekly sales rose by 65% from 2023 to 2024 alone.
In the article, McAfee concedes he “put a couple kids in the hospital” with his milk. In fact, one of them suffered permanent kidney damage. Regulators have traced 233 outbreak cases to his farm.
The Biden administration was on the verge of cracking down on him but the Trump administration put an end to that.
If he finds contamination in his milk, McAfee doesn’t dump it. Instead, he uses it to make cheese because, he says, “cheese is resistant to pathogens.” Research has, of course, proven this to be untrue and, on March 15, federal regulators linked Raw Farm cheese to yet another E. coli outbreak.
››› For all its bluster, the MAHA movement is largely politically irrelevant
POLITICO reports that the movement started by RFK Jr. that was supposed to save the GOP’s majorities is not even in the game:
MAHA Action and MAHA Institute, the movement’s political organizations spreading Kennedy’s message on healthy food and vaccine safety, have largely stayed out of the races that will determine the makeup of Congress. Tony Lyons, the publisher of Kennedy’s books who’s taken a lead role in running the groups, has struggled to turn Kennedy’s appeal into the juggernaut Republicans had hoped would enable them to hold onto their House and Senate majorities. [...]
MAHA groups have endorsed just one Republican, freshman Michigan Rep. Tom Barrett, in a battleground House district so far, ignoring the rest of the competitive races that will determine control of the chamber.
In the Senate, where Republicans need to defend seats in Alaska, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas, MAHA hasn’t backed anyone, much less provided money or grassroots support.
››› Republicans have a secret plan to save Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security
That’s right, Republicans have a plan to save the so-called entitlements but they aren’t going to tell us what that plan is until next year so we’ll just have to wait. Via The Washington Post:
Social Security’s trust fund is now due to run low on money beginning in 2032. And in announcing that new date Tuesday, the government acknowledged that the Trump administration’s immigration policies and tax cuts are expected to contribute to the insolvency. [...]
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) suggested Monday that he would release a plan next year to address ballooning entitlement spending, leading to Democratic attacks.
You can listen to House Speaker Mike Johnson talk about his secret plan to slash entitlements that he won’t reveal until after the midterms HERE.
One Republican was asked about the Republicans’ secret plans and the result was hilarious as he very obviously faked a phone call to avoid talking to a journalist asking him about it. Posting the video, Meidas Touch said, “Rep. Rob Wittman faked a phone call for roughly 90 seconds after being asked about Speaker Mike Johnson’s comments regarding potential Social Security cuts. The phone's screen remained visible, with his cheek inadvertently tapping different parts of the display.”
››› CMS releases the interim final rule to states on implementing Medicaid work requirements
Implementing this part of the Trump tax bill will throw upwards of 5 million people off their health care coverage. Via NBC News:
Pregnant women, parents of young children, veterans with disabilities and several other groups will be exempt from Medicaid’s new work requirements, the Trump administration said Monday.
The guidance was released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, meeting a June 1 deadline under President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” to explain how states should carry out the work rules.
Beginning Jan. 1, many adults on Medicaid will need to work, attend school or volunteer for at least 80 hours a month to keep their coverage.
The guidance also allows exemptions for people who are “medically frail” or have conditions that significantly limit their ability to work, such as cancer or substance use disorder. The guidance doesn’t include an exemption for people who are homeless. [...]
The work requirements are expected to cause about 5 million people to lose their health coverage by 2034, largely because of paperwork and administrative hurdles, as opposed to because of their job status, according to a KFF report.
A recent survey showed that over half of Medicaid recipients don’t even realize what’s about to hit them.
Dr. Oz was openly callous about many of those recipients, essentially calling them freeloading fraudsters who watch over six hours of television a day. Watch that HERE.
IMPORTANT! You can submit public comments on the interim final rule (Medicaid Program; Community Engagement Requirement for Certain Individuals) HERE.
Links for a deeper dive on Episode #59
The New York Times: Kennedy Shows Minimal Engagement With Vast Health Portfolio
CNN: RFK Jr. seeks to peek at Americans’ medical records for clues on autism and vaccines
Idaho Capital Sun: Nearly 60 Idahoans sick after drinking raw milk in past two weeks, officials say
ProPublica: The Milkman
POLITICO: RFK Jr.’s movement was supposed to save the GOP’s majorities. It’s not even in the game.
The Washington Post: Social Security shortfall expected to accelerate, with funds at critical low in 2032
MSNOW: Speaker Johnson eyes a new ‘plan’ for Social Security and Medicare to be shared in 2027
NBC News: Trump admin outlines who would be exempt from Medicaid work requirements
Healthcare Dive: Over half of Medicaid enrollees say they’re unaware of upcoming work requirements
POLITICO: How sick is sick enough? New Medicaid work rule worries patient advocates, states.
Alice Miranda Ollstein on Bluesky
Alice Miranda Ollstein on Instagram
Anusha Thotakura at Citizen Action - Illinois
Citizen Action - Illinois on X
You can submit public comments on the interim final rule (Medicaid Program; Community Engagement Requirement for Certain Individuals) HERE