SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Administrator for the Centers of Medicare & Medicade Services Seema Verma attends 2019 Forbes Healthcare Summit at the Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo: Steven Ferdman/Getty Images)
Trump Official Who Doesn't Want Poor People to Have Publicly-Funded Healthcare Wants Public to Pay for Stolen Ivanka Jewelry
New reporting by Politico reveals that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma filed a claim for over $40,000 for items stolen while she gave a speech bashing Medicare for All.
Dec 07, 2019
President Donald Trump's official in charge of Medicare and Medicaid, Seema Verma, came under fire after Politico reported Saturday that she submitted a $47,000 claim for reimbursement on the taxpayers' dime for stolen, uninsured items items.
The bulk of the claim--for which the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ultimately reimbursed her $2,852.40--was for roughly $43,000 worth of jewelry. Among the roughly two dozen pieces was an Ivanka Trump brand pendant whose estimated value was $5,900, according to documents obtained by Politico. A $325 claim for moisturizer was also among the items included.
The theft reportedly took place in July of 2018 in San Francisco when Verma's luggage was stolen from a rented SUV as she delivered a speech in which she bashed Medicare for All and the Affordable Care Act.
An HHS spokesperson told Politico that submitting a claim while on work travel "is not an unusual practice for federal employees," though items "inherently" for non-work uses would not be covered.
"Staff were unaware of a federal health employee previously filing a claim as large as $47,000," the news outlet added.
The attempt at reimbursement for the apparent luxury items from an official who's repeatedly attacked the key safety net programs drew condemnation from former head of the Office of Government Ethics Walter Shaub.
"Verma is worried about wasting government money on 'unnecessary' medical care for poor people, but she wants the government to reimburse her for $47,000 worth of jewels and clothes she took on a government trip," Shaub tweeted Sunday.
Robert Maguire, research director at watchdog group CREW, suggested Verma's move was more evidence of Trump's betrayal of his campaign vow to "drain the swamp" of Washington corruption.
During the July 2018 speech at the Commonwealth Club, Verma said, "Medicare for all would become Medicare for none" and suggested it would be "bad health policy" to have a single-payer healthcare system that covered everyone in the country at a lower cost.
Verma left no room for doubt about her opinions of switching away for the current for-profit system four months later when she called Medicare for All "a bad idea" and "scary."
And Verma followed up with similar attacks this year. As Common Dreams reported, she said in April, contrary to a number of studies, that Medicare for All proposals such as Sen. Bernie Sanders's would mean worse health outcomes at a higher cost for Americans. In an op-ed published last week at Fox Business, she called Medicare for All a "foolish" plan that would "ruin the program for everyone."
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator has also attacked Medicaid, including by pushing work requirements and so-called block grant programs. Rebecca Vallas, vice president for the Center for American Progress's Poverty to Prosperity Program, said previously, "Make no mistake: people will die if Medicaid block grants take effect." Physicians for a National Health Program president Robert Zarr previously criticized Verma as "the architect of Indiana's punitive restrictions on Medicaid patients."
More recent reporting on Verma has focused on the supposed "bad blood" between her and HHS Secretary Alex Azar, and her hiring of Trump allies as consultants, to the tune of $2.5 million, in order to boost her image.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
President Donald Trump's official in charge of Medicare and Medicaid, Seema Verma, came under fire after Politico reported Saturday that she submitted a $47,000 claim for reimbursement on the taxpayers' dime for stolen, uninsured items items.
The bulk of the claim--for which the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ultimately reimbursed her $2,852.40--was for roughly $43,000 worth of jewelry. Among the roughly two dozen pieces was an Ivanka Trump brand pendant whose estimated value was $5,900, according to documents obtained by Politico. A $325 claim for moisturizer was also among the items included.
The theft reportedly took place in July of 2018 in San Francisco when Verma's luggage was stolen from a rented SUV as she delivered a speech in which she bashed Medicare for All and the Affordable Care Act.
An HHS spokesperson told Politico that submitting a claim while on work travel "is not an unusual practice for federal employees," though items "inherently" for non-work uses would not be covered.
"Staff were unaware of a federal health employee previously filing a claim as large as $47,000," the news outlet added.
The attempt at reimbursement for the apparent luxury items from an official who's repeatedly attacked the key safety net programs drew condemnation from former head of the Office of Government Ethics Walter Shaub.
"Verma is worried about wasting government money on 'unnecessary' medical care for poor people, but she wants the government to reimburse her for $47,000 worth of jewels and clothes she took on a government trip," Shaub tweeted Sunday.
Robert Maguire, research director at watchdog group CREW, suggested Verma's move was more evidence of Trump's betrayal of his campaign vow to "drain the swamp" of Washington corruption.
During the July 2018 speech at the Commonwealth Club, Verma said, "Medicare for all would become Medicare for none" and suggested it would be "bad health policy" to have a single-payer healthcare system that covered everyone in the country at a lower cost.
Verma left no room for doubt about her opinions of switching away for the current for-profit system four months later when she called Medicare for All "a bad idea" and "scary."
And Verma followed up with similar attacks this year. As Common Dreams reported, she said in April, contrary to a number of studies, that Medicare for All proposals such as Sen. Bernie Sanders's would mean worse health outcomes at a higher cost for Americans. In an op-ed published last week at Fox Business, she called Medicare for All a "foolish" plan that would "ruin the program for everyone."
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator has also attacked Medicaid, including by pushing work requirements and so-called block grant programs. Rebecca Vallas, vice president for the Center for American Progress's Poverty to Prosperity Program, said previously, "Make no mistake: people will die if Medicaid block grants take effect." Physicians for a National Health Program president Robert Zarr previously criticized Verma as "the architect of Indiana's punitive restrictions on Medicaid patients."
More recent reporting on Verma has focused on the supposed "bad blood" between her and HHS Secretary Alex Azar, and her hiring of Trump allies as consultants, to the tune of $2.5 million, in order to boost her image.
President Donald Trump's official in charge of Medicare and Medicaid, Seema Verma, came under fire after Politico reported Saturday that she submitted a $47,000 claim for reimbursement on the taxpayers' dime for stolen, uninsured items items.
The bulk of the claim--for which the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ultimately reimbursed her $2,852.40--was for roughly $43,000 worth of jewelry. Among the roughly two dozen pieces was an Ivanka Trump brand pendant whose estimated value was $5,900, according to documents obtained by Politico. A $325 claim for moisturizer was also among the items included.
The theft reportedly took place in July of 2018 in San Francisco when Verma's luggage was stolen from a rented SUV as she delivered a speech in which she bashed Medicare for All and the Affordable Care Act.
An HHS spokesperson told Politico that submitting a claim while on work travel "is not an unusual practice for federal employees," though items "inherently" for non-work uses would not be covered.
"Staff were unaware of a federal health employee previously filing a claim as large as $47,000," the news outlet added.
The attempt at reimbursement for the apparent luxury items from an official who's repeatedly attacked the key safety net programs drew condemnation from former head of the Office of Government Ethics Walter Shaub.
"Verma is worried about wasting government money on 'unnecessary' medical care for poor people, but she wants the government to reimburse her for $47,000 worth of jewels and clothes she took on a government trip," Shaub tweeted Sunday.
Robert Maguire, research director at watchdog group CREW, suggested Verma's move was more evidence of Trump's betrayal of his campaign vow to "drain the swamp" of Washington corruption.
During the July 2018 speech at the Commonwealth Club, Verma said, "Medicare for all would become Medicare for none" and suggested it would be "bad health policy" to have a single-payer healthcare system that covered everyone in the country at a lower cost.
Verma left no room for doubt about her opinions of switching away for the current for-profit system four months later when she called Medicare for All "a bad idea" and "scary."
And Verma followed up with similar attacks this year. As Common Dreams reported, she said in April, contrary to a number of studies, that Medicare for All proposals such as Sen. Bernie Sanders's would mean worse health outcomes at a higher cost for Americans. In an op-ed published last week at Fox Business, she called Medicare for All a "foolish" plan that would "ruin the program for everyone."
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator has also attacked Medicaid, including by pushing work requirements and so-called block grant programs. Rebecca Vallas, vice president for the Center for American Progress's Poverty to Prosperity Program, said previously, "Make no mistake: people will die if Medicaid block grants take effect." Physicians for a National Health Program president Robert Zarr previously criticized Verma as "the architect of Indiana's punitive restrictions on Medicaid patients."
More recent reporting on Verma has focused on the supposed "bad blood" between her and HHS Secretary Alex Azar, and her hiring of Trump allies as consultants, to the tune of $2.5 million, in order to boost her image.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.