Calley Means, co-founder of the Truemed telehealth platform and a special government employee at the Department of Health and Human Services advising Robert F. Kennedy Jr., defended efforts to eliminate waste and fraud within federal health agencies.
During a tense exchange at the Politico Health Care Summit on Wednesday, Means criticized existing federal health authorities as an “utter failure,” prompting one healthcare lobbyist in the crowd to shout, “That’s not true!” Means then proceeded on a warpath with stats, shutting up the room of anti-MAHA lobbyists.
Here’s the exchange:
Calley: “Those scientists fundamentally have overseen a record of utter failure.”
Lobbyist: “That’s not true!”
Calley: “Oh, that’s not true?”
“Has there been one single chronic disease medication in modern American history that has lowered rates of the chronic disease?”
“Is it appropriate that the American Academy of Pediatrics right now, which is 90% funded by pharma, is pushing Ozempic on six year olds?”
“The lobbyists in this room do not have the humility to admit that we have gone completely wrong.”
“The lobbyists in this room laughing when we have the sickest children in the developed world.”
Calley Means just torched a room of lobbyists!
Calley: “Those scientists fundamentally have overseen a record of utter failure.”
Lobbyist: “That’s not true!”
Calley: “Oh, that’s not true?”
“Has there been one single chronic disease medication in modern American history that… pic.twitter.com/yQRs3AE4F7
— End Tribalism in Politics (@EndTribalism) April 2, 2025
Means continued:
“When you turn on CNBC, it’s just a nonstop infomercial for pharma. It’s a Skyrizi commercial followed by Scott Gottlieb saying how Bobby’s killing people followed by a breathless coverage of the measles outbreak, and no mention of the mental health crisis. It is insane for you to insinuate that the thing standing between us and better health is more government bureaucrats.”
It is insane to argue that more government bureaucrats and more spending is standing in the way of better health.
It’s the opposite.
The moves from HHS this week disempower administrators who let us down + ensures more money goes to scientists and frontline health services. https://t.co/OFzCGCHSEp
— Calley Means (@calleymeans) April 2, 2025
Means defended rolling back staffing levels to 2017, arguing that trimming bloated federal health agencies is necessary after decades of worsening public health and some of the worst health rates for kids in the developed world.
There is a dividing line in the healthcare debate:
Do we need bold change to change the incentives of our system to reverse childhood chronic disease?
Or is the answer more of the same?
Americans voted for change in November – and they were right. pic.twitter.com/4BDTvaMB8F
— Calley Means (@calleymeans) April 2, 2025
What’s clear is that a bloated HHS—with its massive administrative state—has failed to improve the health of Americans.
.@SecKennedy’s cuts at HHS send a clear message:
Less power to administrators.
More power to scientists and doctors. pic.twitter.com/yDHPQLVB4Q
— Calley Means (@calleymeans) March 27, 2025
In fact, health outcomes for children have worsened. And US health costs are the highest in the world.
One of the amazing parts about @SecKennedy is he prompts these lunatics in the MSM to defend a system that has overseen devastation to American health. https://t.co/ZpyPZo4bog pic.twitter.com/ppGwE46G7w
— Calley Means (@calleymeans) April 1, 2025
As Means pointed out, it’s time for meaningful reforms (such as HHS cuts last week)—not just in health care, but across the processed foods industrial complex. It’s time for Americans to demand big food stop poisoning them with chemicals and seed oils.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 04/02/2025 – 19:40
