The Trump Administration has made it clear from the jump they will be cutting excessive spending wherever it is necessary. The government bureaucracy and entitlements alike have ballooned out of control and some big-time cutting is necessary. One of those areas that is the target is Medicaid benefits and knocking people off the list who do not truly need the service.
The whole point of the agency is to help the most vulnerable people in America get access to medical care. But thanks to the Biden Administration, there have been insane amounts of people added to the rolls, numbering in the millions. Well over half of them are likely in no real need of Medicaid, and it has brought the whole idea to a tipping point.
The Left and media have been screaming that Medicaid cuts will cost lives. But in reality, it might actually save Americans. Dr. Deane Waldman says this is because of what is called the "seesaw effect."
"The more people you put on Medicaid enrollment, the greater the number of enrollees...the longer people will wait for care," he says.
The whole idea has become a failure now because of that. Millions of people have been added, people are unable to get treatment they really need, and it has in turn drained the federal government of money. It might be one of the most important reforms that President Trump has to address.
"Medicaid was intended to be a safety net for the medically vulnerable, it was not intended to be a government cover-all for everyone," says Dr. Waldman. "These able bodied, healthy people we are adding to the rolls are taking away care from those who really need it."
Nearly one-third of physicians refuse new Medicaid patients now due to low payments and government red tape, and in Texas, less than half accept new Medicaid patients. There needs to be new eligibility requirements to narrow the enrollment, plain and simple. It is the only way the system can sustain itself for the foreseeable future.
Most of the people added under Biden as well were as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, when unemployment shot up mostly due to ridiculous vaccine requirements. But those people have returned to work and qualify for employment benefits. That means they have no business still being enrolled in Medicaid.
"Why should they still be on Medicaid, bleeding resources the medically vulnerable need, when these people can get insurance through their employers," Dr. Waldman says.
There is only one path forward to saving Americans and keeping Medicaid for the most vulnerable alive. There needs to be cuts made. Like ripping a band aid off, people will not like it at first. But the result could be saving lives, instead of dooming them.
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