AOC Clashes with RFK Jr. Over Healthcare Fraud and Scientific Integrity in Tense Congressional Hearing
A fiery exchange erupted on Capitol Hill this week as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) confronted Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a tense oversight hearing. The hearing, intended to review recent public health initiatives, quickly turned into a combative interrogation over alleged healthcare fraud, scientific credibility, and personal financial transparency.
Ocasio-Cortez opened her questioning with a bombshell claim: that the Trump-era Department of Justice is reportedly investigating UnitedHealth Group, the country’s largest private insurer, for criminal fraud related to its Medicare Advantage operations. Secretary Kennedy, seemingly caught off guard, said he was unaware of the investigation, despite HHS having jurisdiction over Medicare programs.
“You’re not aware that the Trump Department of Justice is investigating the largest insurance company in America for fraud in Medicare Advantage?” Ocasio-Cortez asked incredulously. “That doesn’t surprise me,” Kennedy responded, admitting ignorance of the probe but not dismissing the possibility.
Ocasio-Cortez highlighted the scale of alleged fraud, citing estimates that for-profit insurance companies are defrauding taxpayers of more than $80 billion annually. “If that’s the case, why did your agency nearly double the rate of taxpayer payments to these companies next year?” she pressed.
She then entered into the congressional record an April 7th, 2025 CMS press release stating that Medicare Advantage payments would increase by 5.06%—a sharp rise from the 2.2% increase approved under the Biden administration. She specifically pointed out that this decision would result in an additional $25 billion in payouts to private insurers like UnitedHealth, currently under reported federal scrutiny.
The exchange grew more intense as Ocasio-Cortez shifted focus to Kennedy’s leadership of the “Presidential Commission to Make America Healthy Again,” which recently published a controversial report on chronic disease in children. According to multiple news investigations, the report cited sources that either did not exist or grossly misrepresented the findings of referenced research.
“Did you read the report and fact-check the sources prior to publication?” she asked. Kennedy admitted, “I did not fact-check,” though he insisted the foundational assertions of the report were accurate.
“That’s unbelievable,” Ocasio-Cortez shot back. “If a UCLA pre-med student submitted this, they’d get an F—for misinterpretation, falsehoods, and citing studies that don’t exist.”
She then submitted three news articles published on May 29 and May 30 documenting the factual discrepancies and complaints from cited researchers. Some scholars contacted by journalists claimed they were never involved in the studies attributed to them, while others said their research had been distorted.
Kennedy maintained that the errors were corrected within 24 hours, but Ocasio-Cortez pushed back, arguing that misinformation still remained in the updated version and that these inaccuracies had broader implications for public trust.
“Your words carry weight,” she said. “This is not just a typo. You are making decisions that directly impact the nation’s public health infrastructure.”
The confrontation culminated in Ocasio-Cortez condemning Kennedy’s reported proposal to bar federal scientists from publishing in top medical journals and instead promote internal HHS publications. “You want to limit our top government researchers from sharing science with the world—because you want to replace them with unreviewed, fact-challenged reports like this?” she asked, visibly frustrated.
Kennedy deflected the criticism, insisting the department was committed to transparency and evidence-based practices. But for Ocasio-Cortez and other critics, that promise rang hollow.
“You said your goal was to build trust,” she concluded. “But how can we trust an HHS Secretary who signs off on false reports, misuses taxpayer money, and stifles legitimate science?”
As the hearing adjourned, Kennedy’s silence in response to the final round of questions only added to the scrutiny now mounting around both his leadership and the department’s direction.
The clash highlighted the growing tension between the administration’s controversial health policies and lawmakers demanding accountability, transparency, and scientific integrity in one of the government’s most consequential agencies.
