STAT+: MAGA influencers take a sudden interest in Medicare Advantage reforms, echoing a dark money group

Casey Ross covers the use of artificial intelligence in medicine and its underlying questions of safety, fairness, and privacy. John Wilkerson is a Washington correspondent for STAT who writes about the politics of health care. He is also the author of the twice-weekly D.C. Diagnosis newsletter . In early June, a MAGA influencer named Chuck Callesto launched a social media assault on Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who had apparently crossed a line by proposing to reform Medicare plans run by private insurers. In a sharply worded tweet, Callesto labeled Cassidy a RINO (Republican In Name Only) and accused him of undermining President Trump, who had pledged to avoid cutting Medicare in the massive tax and spending package known as the “big beautiful bill.” Callesto, who boasts nearly a million Twitter followers, finished his post with a curiously-scripted passage: “Medicare Advantage delivers the highest quality and most affordable choice for the majority of seniors – offering coordinated care with integrated prescription drug coverage, care coordination, nutrition and community benefits and in-home care – all with caps on out-of-pocket costs.” Advertisement A nearly identical description, with the same distinctive punctuation, can be found on the website of a dark money group called Medicare Advantage Majority. And soon after its language appeared in Callesto’s tweet, kicking off a flood of similar posts from MAGA influencers, Medicare Advantage Majority began buying ads on Facebook, Twitter, and television that similarly targeted Cassidy. His proposed reforms were ultimately not included in the bill. Related Story Republicans are proud of creating Medicare Advantage. Now some are urging reform amid runaway costs The chain of events put into sharp relief the cloak-and-dagger politics surrounding Medicare Advantage, the $550 billion federal program that has become the focus of aggressive lobbying by health insurers and anyone who can be enlisted — or paid — to help protect its profitability for private industry. The barrage of social media posts angered lawmakers, prompting a stern warning last week from Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), another member of the GOP who had been targeted on social media after proposing Medicare Advantage reforms.