WASHINGTON - The head of Medicare and Medicaid was being criticized online Wednesday after she took a Halloween-inspired jab at Medicare for all on Twitter.

Seema Verma, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, posted a photo of a man wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with "Medicare for All" Wednesday afternoon with the comment "this year’s scariest Halloween costume goes to..."

Those online were quick to scrutinize the post and allege Verma was unfit for serve in her role.

"I'd imagine the families of the thousands of Americans who die every year because they have no health insurance would not find your Halloween 'joke' funny whatsoever," wrote Twitter user Alex Kotch.

Verma, in a statement to USA TODAY, said the post was a way to get attention and said critics weren't wrong, changing the U.S. healthcare system isn't a joke.

"Did I get your attention? Good. People are right. Medicare for All isn’t a joke. It’s a multi-trillion drain on the American economy that will bankrupt future generations," she said in the statement. "It’s government controlled health care that will strip choice away from millions. It’s a bad idea. And it is scary."

Medicare for all and differing views on healthcare has become a central issue to this year's midterm elections. A large number of Democrats are backing the idea, as do a majority of Americans.

More:Democrats back Medicare for all in about half of House races they're contesting

More:Medicare for All is an election talking point for all. What does it really mean?

More:Donald Trump: Democrats 'Medicare for All' plan will demolish promises to seniors

But polls show the public is still fuzzy on the details of “Medicare for all,” and support drops when they’re given more information. The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation defines the program as one that would replace virtually all other sources of private health coverage and most public programs.

Republicans have also pointed to the policy this cycle, trying to tie Democrats to Medicare for all, even in some cases where the candidates say they don't support the approach.

In an op-ed for USA TODAY, President Donald Trump ripped apart Medicare for all as “just the beginning” of a socialist agenda for Democrats. He said the program would cost an “astonishing” $32.6 trillion during its first 10 years, a reference to a study by the Mercatus Center of George Mason University of a health care plan proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who may run in 2020.

Politifact found that Americans in the aggregate would pay more to the government to fund health care but less overall than they pay now. The fact-checking site also noted the study forecast that total health care spending would drop by about $2 trillion over 10 years.

Contributing: Nicole Gaudiano and Maureen Groppe