RFK Jr. draws backlash for ripping Medicaid programs that pay people to care for relatives [View all]

Source: NBC News

April 23, 2026, 11:41 AM EDT


Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sparked outrage among disability rights advocates with recent comments alleging widespread fraud in Medicaid programs that pay people to care for elderly or disabled family members — a system millions of Americans rely on to survive.

During testimony before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee last week, Kennedy criticized Medicaid-funded programs that pay relatives to serve as caregivers, alleging they compensate people for tasks they “used to do as family members for free.” That includes paying them “for balancing the checkbook, for picking up the groceries, for driving somebody to a doctor’s appointment,” he said. “And this is rife with fraud,” Kennedy said, because the federal government has no way “to determine if they actually performed that duty or not.”

Video of the remarks quickly spread across social media, drawing a wave of angry responses from caregivers and disability rights advocates who said Kennedy trivialized the reality of caring for medically complex loved ones while conflating legitimate caregiving with illegal activity.

“That’s insulting,” said Kim Musheno, senior director of Medicaid policy at The Arc of the United States, a national disability rights organization. “It’s insulting to the families, and it’s insulting to the work that direct support professionals do for people.”. That work, advocates say, is far more complex than shuttling loved ones to doctor appointments. For many families, it involves constant, hands-on care for relatives who are unable to live independently — from managing medications and medical equipment to providing continuous supervision for those with significant physical or behavioral needs. The work can be physically and emotionally demanding, advocates say.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rfk-jr-backlash-medicaid-home-care-programs-fraud-rcna341483