As Congress considers reforms to Medicaid through the reconciliation process, there has been a flurry of overheated rhetoric and lobbying in support of the broken status quo.
The most common false claim is that Medicaid would face “deep cuts” if Congress enacts reforms proposed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. A partial score of the measure estimates $625 billion in Medicaid savings. Even if the savings were increased to $900 billion, Medicaid spending would still grow by 3% per year.
Another claim is that Medicaid reform would jeopardize medical providers. However, this ignores the fact that federal health spending will still surge 5% per year if Congress passes $625 billion in Medicaid savings, compared to 5.4% growth in the baseline.
Legislators should recognize that a small reduction to the growth of federal health spending would not jeopardize any aspect of the medical system. The current growth of federal health spending is unsustainable, and those who benefit from the spending must not be allowed to drive the nation into bankruptcy.
