Robert F. Kennedy Jr. alleges Medicare fraud over skin graft spending

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has alleged systemic fraud within Medicare regarding the spending on high-priced skin graft wound-care products, known as skin substitutes. Speaking at the 2026 MAHA Summit alongside Vice President JD Vance, Kennedy stated that Medicare spending on these products surged from approximately $200 million in 2019 to $14 billion last year.

Kennedy characterized the spike as the result of perverse financial incentives, claiming that medical professionals were incentivized to prescribe more expensive options because they would receive six percent of the sales cost. He noted that while European Medicare prices for comparable products remained around 35 cents, U.S. costs rose from $135 to as much as $2,000 per cubic inch.

Kennedy claimed that the administration has taken steps to curb this spending, stating that the program was on track to spend $23 billion this year but has since been driven down to approximately $1 billion.