The Healthcare Fraud Debate: Are We Actually Mad At the Same Thing? A Convo w Trump/MAHA Supporters + Medicaid Experts

Today, we are delving into the subject of healthcare fraud.  The Trump administration has elevated it into a major political issue.

When it comes to Medicaid fraud specifically, do you see this administration's recent actions towards states such as Minnesota as a well-meaning push to take on the bad actors and lax state oversight that has allowed this taxpayer-supported safety net to be exploited? Or do you see it as a political talking point being used to suggest widespread abuse when there is not, to justify cutting that very safety net? Or is this an abhorrent scam for which we just don't see eye to eye on the solution? 

The truth is, your answer may depend on where you get your information, who you trust, and how you’ve experienced the system yourself.

In today’s episode, we dig into that divide. What do we actually know about healthcare fraud in America—and what is rhetoric versus reality? We bring together Trump and MAHA supporters, including a mother whose child was covered by Medicaid, along with a health reporter from Minnesota and experts on Medicaid program integrity, to ask: how big is the problem really, are we focused on the right issues, and what can we actually agree on?

Hosts:

Brinda Adhikari

Tom Johnson

Maggie Bartlett

Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guests:

Jacqueline Capriotti, founder and CEO of Health Revolution USA, small business owner and mother of two adults with cystic fibrosis, worked on the Kennedy/MAHA campaign. 

Aaron Everitt, writer and Substacker for Besides the Revolution and House inHabit volunteered for Kennedy campaign. 

Eleanor Hildebrandt, reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune, has covered the Medicaid fraud issue on the ground there in that state.

Andy Schneider, health policy expert at Georgetown’s McCourt School who served as a senior advisor at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the Obama administration.

Joel White, President of the Council for Affordable Health Coverage who served as the Staff Director for the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means.

Wilk Wilkinson, host of the Derate the Hate podcast and director of Media Operations for Braver Angels. 

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