Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) accused the Joe Biden administration of “hypocrisy” and “fearmongering” over claims that Republicans want to cut Medicare when the Biden administration has moved to cut Medicare Advantage.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra accused health insurers of “disinformation” about a move to cut Medicare Advantage.

“Any claim that this Administration is cutting Medicare is categorically false,” Becerra said in a statement. “Leave it to deep-pocketed insurance companies and industry front groups to characterize this year’s increase in Medicare Advantage payments as a cut.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged a reporter’s question on Friday about the proposed Medicare Advantage cuts, continuing to claim that Republicans want to cut Medicare and other entitlement programs.

Roughly half of the American seniors who are eligible to enroll in Medicare choose Medicare Advantage. The Biden administration moved to cut Medicare Advantage by 2.27 percent; the final rate is expected by early April.

The Better Medicare Alliance industry group claimed during a briefing that the proposed rate could reduce benefits for American seniors by $540 per enrolled in 2024. America’s Physician Groups (APG), which represents more than 360 physician-led groups, said the Biden administration’s proposed cuts would lead to “serious harm to patients, especially those that are the most disadvantaged.”

“That could mean Medicare Advantage plans would charge seniors higher prices or offer fewer extra benefits, like dental or vision care, the group said. That assumes insurers don’t change their bids for Medicare Advantage contracts, which they’re permitted to do,” Bloomberg noted.

This cut comes at a time when Biden emphatically claimed that he would not cut Medicare during his State of the Union address.

Marshall, who practiced medicine for more than 25 years and delivered more than 5,000 babies as an OB/GYN, slammed the Biden administration for continuing to engage in hypocrisy.

“I think that this is just another example of hypocrisy from the White House, that this White House is talking out of both sides of their mouth. This president’s accusing Republicans of wanting to cut Medicare when he’s actually out there cutting Medicare,” he told Breitbart News exclusively.

Marshall mentioned that 45 percent of Medicare patients choose Medicare Advantage or roughly 30 million American seniors. He said that those who choose Medicare Advantage for extra services and that the program often runs 15 percent less “fee for service.”

Asked why the Biden administration would move to cut Medicare Advantage, he said, “I’m guessing this administration just doesn’t like competition. And right now there’s some pretty good competition out there in the Medicare Advantage field.”

Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), the Republican Study Committee (RSC) chair, said that this move serves as the first step towards Medicare for All. Becerra, when serving as attorney general, said he was a supporter of Medicare for All, even saying he supported it for “all the 24 years that I was in Congress.”

Progressive Democrats introduced legislation to obstruct Medicare Advantage; Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), one of the bill’s sponsors, claimed that Medicare Advantage undermines traditional Medicare.

Despite the Republican and medical group pressure against the Biden administration, Marshall said he does not believe Biden will tell “whoppers” and “fibs.”

Bob Herman, a reporter for StatNews, an healthcare industry outlet, noted that, in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) own words, its 2024 Medicare Advantage proposals would lead to $3 billion in “net savings to the Medicare trust fund,” or $3 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage.

Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA), who has a Ph.D. in business and healthcare administration, accused the Biden administration of “shamelessly” lying about their claim that Republicans want to cut Medicare and other entitlement programs.

The Kansas conservative accused Biden of “fearmongering.”

He explained, “He loves this fearmongering. He loves to scare people. He loves the chaos. It distracts people from paying attention to the man behind the curtain, like in The Wizard of Oz, which in this case, of course, is the Hunter Biden story. So he wants us all to be thinking about everything else and not paying attention to what he’s really doing.”

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.