On Wednesday’s “PBS NewsHour,” House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) said that it is possible to get the cuts in the House budget without touching Medicaid and responded to a question on if he can guarantee that none of the people who rely on Medicaid will see their benefits cut by stating that “These programs are not sustainable for the most vulnerable people.” And “the entire health system is oriented around giving better care and better access to able-bodied Obamacare expansion populations. So, there [are] a lot of ways to make it work better and make it work more efficiently.”
Arrington began by saying that the budget policies will be hashed out at the committee level.
Co-host then Amna Nawaz asked, “As you know, there’s been a lot of concern about cuts to Medicaid. The mandate that you’ve set for the Energy and Commerce Committee that oversees Medicaid is for them to cut $880 billion. The largest pot of money that they oversee is Medicare, which you’ve said you will not touch. So, how do you see hitting that $880 billion figure without touching Medicaid?”
Arrington answered, “Well, we’re going to make sure we actually eliminate the waste that exists in the federal government, not just in the Medicaid program, but across the federal government. The Government Accountability Office estimates, just within 70 programs in the federal government, $2.7 trillion in waste, fraud, and abuse. And then fraud, government-wide, they say, on the higher end, is $5 trillion. So, we have to put the program integrity measures in place to make sure those who are legally eligible are those receiving the benefits that the taxpayers and lawmakers intended. But, for example, if you just review for eligibility, not once, but twice a year, going back to the Trump administration policies, you’ll actually, not only prevent the fraudulent spending of tax dollars, but you will save $160 billion that you can put towards reducing the deficit and making, not just Medicaid, but all of these programs sustainable today that are not sustainable. So, program integrity, state accountability, personal responsibility. SNAP has requirements for able-bodied adults who are able to work to work to receive the benefit. And we think that it’s responsible to do that across the government. Medicaid doesn’t have that, for example. These are some of the things that will be meted out at the committee level.”
Nawaz then asked, “Chairman, if I may, just to double-check the math here, that $3 trillion you cited there, that is the cumulative of estimated overpayments and fraud from GAO, dating back to 2003. So, that’s not quite apples to apples here. You mentioned the 160 billion that would come from reversing some Biden-era policies. But the national improper pay rate that I saw, HHS estimates on fraud, only totals about 31 billion. I’m just pointing these out to show nowhere are you near 880 billion. So, again, where are you seeing math that says you can get to that number without touching Medicaid?”
Arrington responded, “Yeah, actually, let me correct that statement, the Government Accountability Office, 2.7 trillion in improper payments, that’s a 10-year number. That is a 10-year number, not since 2003. That’s going forward. In fact, there’s 50 billion in Medicaid. It’s over 500 billion over the 10-year window. So, when we say we want to save 1.5-2 trillion in reducing wasteful spending, that’s over the 10-year budget window. So, it is apples to apples. I would also suggest — and there are outside groups that have measured this, one that comes to mind is NumbersUSA — they say that we’re spending $150 billion for social services for people who are in this country illegally, about $9,000 per illegal immigrant. That’s more than we spend on U.S. citizens who are the most vulnerable among us and eligible for Medicaid. It’s also more than we spend for our veterans on military benefits. So, there’s a lot of cleaning up, a lot of waste and fraud. And there [are] just a lot of inefficiencies.”
Nawaz then cut in to ask, “So, if I may, Chairman, and I apologize, I know our time is limited, is it possible for you to guarantee that none of the 70 million people who rely on Medicaid are going to have their benefits cut? Can you make that guarantee?”
Arrington responded, “I can tell you this: These programs are not sustainable for the most vulnerable people. I can also tell you that the Obamacare expansion population, they get a 90% federal match. And the blind, disabled, the sickest and poorest among us, they get 65% on average. So, the entire health system is oriented around giving better care and better access to able-bodied Obamacare expansion populations. So, there [are] a lot of ways to make it work better and make it work more efficiently.”
Amna Nawaz then cut in to say, “Chairman, I’ll just point out, I’m not hearing a guarantee in there, but I think our conversation on this will continue.”
Arrington responded, “Sure.”
The discussion then turned to federal workforce firings.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
