ABOUT THOSE MEDICAID ‘CUTS:’ We’ve all heard a thousand times in the media in recent weeks all about how those evil House Republicans are going to destroy Medicaid by slashing $625 billion. As usual with the mainstream media when it comes to reporting on proposals to limit federal spending in any way, there’s a whole lot more to this story than is being reported, according to Issues & Insights (I&I).
“First, let’s dispense with the claim of ‘devastating’ cuts to Medicaid. The House reconciliation bill would reduce Medicaid spending by $625 billion. That might sound like a lot, but it’s stretched out over 10 years, at a time when Medicaid is on track to spend $8.6 trillion. Medicaid spending will still go up every year under the House bill, just a tiny bit more slowly,” according to I&I.
Second, there is a tax-and-spending scam whereby state governments can shift much of the costs of their official share of Medicaid spending back on to the shoulders of federal taxpayers. It’s such a scam that even Joe Biden called it that way back in 2011. Just fixing this regulatory scheme would save virtually of the money on which GOPers are focused.
But there’s more, much more. Go here for the rest of this story.