More than half of Americans enrolled in Medicare receive their coverage from a private insurer through a program called Medicare Advantage. But according to whistleblowers, some of those companies may be overcharging the government and getting billions of taxpayer dollars in the process. Several Justice Department investigations have followed those claims.

On today’s Big Take podcast, we hear from one of those whistleblowers and Bloomberg health-care reporter John Tozzi about how Medicare Advantage took off and the questions these fraud allegations raise about how taxpayer dollars are spent.

Read more:

• Major Insurers Are Scamming Billions from Medicare, Whistle-Blowers Say
• Medicare Advantage Fraud Case Settled for Up to $100 Million
• UnitedHealth Falls on DOJ Probe Into Medicare Billing

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Monday marks the three year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And over the last few days, Trump has revealed his approach to ending the conflict. It would reverse years of US foreign policy in the region and has, so far, left Ukraine out of direct conversations with Russia.

On today’s Big Take DC podcast, Bloomberg reporter Iain Marlow takes us inside the historic US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia and explains what Trump’s pivot in policy and alliances could mean for America’s role on the global stage.

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President Trump’s attacks on a key international aid agency, USAID, has left its work frozen and kicked off a fierce legal battle between his administration and US courts over its future.

On today’s Big Take DC podcast, we hear from Bloomberg’s Simon Marks and health care workers on the ground in Nairobi about how the fight playing out more than 7,000 miles away is affecting HIV treatment there. And national security editor Nick Wadhams explains why Trump has taken aim at USAID and what a gutting of the agency could mean for US soft power.

Read more:

• USAID Cuts in Kenya Reveal Risks to Lives and American Influence Worldwide
• After DOGE's Chaotic USAID Shutdown: Wasted Supplies, Layoffs and Lawsuits

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