Labeling modest efforts to control costs as “cuts” may be politically appealing, but it obscures the real challenge and makes serious reform that much harder.
Democrats have made a striking claim central to their midterm message: that Republicans have “cut” Medicaid by as much as $1 trillion.
It’s a powerful line. It’s also misleading.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Medicaid spending is projected to rise every year for the foreseeable future, totaling more than $8.3 trillion from 2027 to 2036. Federal spending alone is expected to grow from roughly $700 billion annually today to nearly $1 trillion by 2036.
In Washington, apparently, slightly slower spending growth counts as a “cut.”
By any reasonable interpretation, Republicans are not slashing Medicaid spending. They are trying to prevent the program from eating up an even bigger share of the Treasury, largely by targeting waste, fraud and ineligible enrollment.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
Republicans did not cut Medicaid. They slowed its growth
Sally C. Pipes
Labeling modest efforts to control costs as “cuts” may be politically appealing, but it obscures the real challenge and makes serious reform that much harder.
Democrats have made a striking claim central to their midterm message: that Republicans have “cut” Medicaid by as much as $1 trillion.
It’s a powerful line. It’s also misleading.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Medicaid spending is projected to rise every year for the foreseeable future, totaling more than $8.3 trillion from 2027 to 2036. Federal spending alone is expected to grow from roughly $700 billion annually today to nearly $1 trillion by 2036.
In Washington, apparently, slightly slower spending growth counts as a “cut.”
By any reasonable interpretation, Republicans are not slashing Medicaid spending. They are trying to prevent the program from eating up an even bigger share of the Treasury, largely by targeting waste, fraud and ineligible enrollment.
Read the entire op-ed here.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.