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| The US must choose: either $20 trillion in debt or Medicaid reform |
| 2025-03-11 |
| [FoxNews] Medicaid spending has spiked over $200 billion in five years. Reform needs to be a centerpiece of DOGE cuts In 10 years, the United States is on course to add $20 trillion to the national debt, setting the total sum owed by American taxpayers at over $56 trillion. Every year we spend in the red, interest on the debt continues to accumulate, until by 2051, when interest alone will be the largest line item in the federal budget. Put simply, we are on a collision course with a total financial crisis, and Congress may only have a handful of chances left to turn back. To prevent a total collapse of the U.S. dollar and give the American people the opportunities they deserve, lawmakers must reform Medicaid. To do anything less borders on malfeasance. While the urgency of our nation’s debt crisis is lost on many, cutting waste, fraud and abuse has been a priority of President Donald Trump’s administration since day one. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk have already uncovered billions of dollars in waste. From excessive Politico Pro subscriptions to Democrat pet projects overseas, taxpayers have been totally robbed. But, even if DOGE meets its quota for cuts and the freezes on wasteful federal grants aren’t dragged out in litigation, these savings won’t scratch the surface of what’s required to save America from its looming debt crisis. For lawmakers who claim to be on board with cutting the waste, fraud and abuse — and delivering on Trump’s historic mandate — this is it. Nothing you do in the next two years will come close to the importance of implementing the $880 billion required in savings to programs under the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction. We are not asking you to slash Medicaid, only turn back the clock and reverse its explosive expansion in the last few years that has put it on an unsustainable course. In the last five years, federal Medicaid spending has skyrocketed from $409 billion in 2019 to $618 billion in 2024, a 51% increase. Despite being 60 years old, a third of Medicaid’s growth has occurred in those same five years. And in the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office projects that Medicaid will cost more than $1 trillion annually, rivaling the size of Saudi Arabia’s current economy. When Obamacare introduced an entirely new class of able-bodied adults to Medicaid, the program exploded, and the federal government took on the majority of the costs. Under President Joe Biden, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) withdrew 13 waivers for Medicaid work requirements, once again dramatically expanding the program and costing taxpayers billions. Medicaid was never meant to be this expansive. Medicaid was intended to assist vulnerable populations like the disabled, pregnant women, children and people in poverty. Today, able-bodied, working-capable adults are on course to become the largest subgroup on Medicaid. Nationwide, there are an estimated 24.6 million able-bodied, working-capable adults on Medicaid, 60% of whom report no earned income. Coupled with the Biden administration’s unilateral expansion of food stamps, the federal government is effectively discouraging a substantial portion of the able-bodied American population from seeking employment altogether. The "safety net" has become a full-blown poverty trap, keeping Americans in an endless cycle of dependency and diverting resources from those who truly need help. In some states, higher provider rates for expansion enrollees have created an explicit financial incentive for healthcare providers to discriminate against traditional enrollees. Single moms, infants and the disabled are being pushed aside in favor of able-bodied adults without dependents. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #6 Dems zero in on Musk wanting to cut Social Security, Medicare waste, White House responds |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2025-03-11 10:15 |
| #5 It's not about rich TW. Back in the day when I was 55 and self employed a policy for myself alone would be around $3K/month. Granted, good policy but hardly affordable. Ten years later I have no idea what the same policy would cost. Medicare is a good plan with the different parts added, and it's wealth based after Part A. |
| Posted by: The Walking Unvaxed 2025-03-11 08:29 |
| #4 Once you turn 65, you're basically REQUIRED to join Medicare Why? I understand that employer insurance stops coverage once employees can be shoved over to the government plan, but can one not buy private insurance out of pocket, or even pay for expenses out of pocket without getting insurance — what do rich people do who don’t want to be limited by whatever an insurance company refuses to cover? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2025-03-11 02:26 |
| #3 Democrats Are Again Lying About Supposed Medicare/Medicaid Cuts in the Budget CR |
| Posted by: Frank G 2025-03-11 02:00 |
| #2 They keep trying to tie this with age-related Medicare requirements. It's not. Once you turn 65, you're basically REQUIRED to join Medicare |
| Posted by: Frank G 2025-03-11 01:30 |
| #1 This forgets to mention that the largest population group is now into retirement age. We knew this would hit back in the 70's, yet congress did nothing for decades. Tell congress to stop inter agency borrowing and just maybe programs like this and social security will survive. But congress wants to keep the panic going so they can take their millions and run. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2025-03-11 01:12 |