Medicaid changes to “big, beautiful, invoice” are “common sense” health care policy
Nicole Malliotakes, Rn.Y., joins “Varney & Co.” to discuss the GOP’s plans to limit Medicaid fraud and abuse and how Democrats are responding.
Medicaid, an insurance program for low-income and disabled Americans, has proven to be a sticking point for winning president Donald TrumpA huge spending bill on the finish line.
Faced with the July 4 deadline, Republican lawmakers proposed restructuring the program to compensate more than 70 million people.
The new job requirements appearing in both the House and Senate proposals could encourage millions of Americans to lose Medicaid compensation. This requirement requires people to participate in 80 hours of qualifying activities each month.
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“For taxpayers who pay for the Medicaid program, it’s completely reasonable to have everyone in the program that can contribute working,” Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at Cato Institute, told FOX Business.
On December 16th, 2019, a US flag flies in front of the US Capitol Dome in Washington, DC. (Samuel Column/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“Will the labor requirements for the House and Senate drafted them be part of those who are not registered with Medicaid? Yeah, perhaps,” he added. “There is no obvious way to balance too much support and too little help, but the job requirements are completely reasonable.”
The bill asks Medicaid members, skilled and adult adults without children, to work or volunteer about 20 hours a week.
Nina Schaefer, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Health and Welfare and Welfare Policy, described Medicaid regulations as “a common sense change in management.”
“The Medicaid program is over 60 years old and runs too long on Autopilot. These changes are beginning to bring a lot of necessary monitoring, transparency and accountability to the program,” she said.
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Schaefer said the bill “works to ensure that only those eligible for the program are on top of it, exclude budgetary gimmicks to shift more costs to federal taxpayers, and ensures that states bring Medicaid work requirements for enrolled individuals that may be needed by other welfare programs.
The Congressional Budget Office predicts Medicaid spending will total $8.2 trillion over the 2025-2034 period. This year alone, spending is expected to reach $656 million, rising to an estimated $986 billion by 2034.
Matthew Dickerson, director of budget policy at the Center for Economic Policy and Innovation, writes that the $8.2 trillion figure is more than 20 times the estimated spending for US customs border protection and US immigration and customs enforcement.
“The worst thing about Medicaid is that it brings inadequate consequences for the most vulnerable people in our society, bringing hundreds of millions of dollars a year to hospitals, insurance companies and state officials,” Dickerson wrote in a February report.
Sen. Tom Tillis (RN.C.) defeated the GOP on Saturday, saying it was because around 663,000 North Carolina people would be driving around about 663,000 from their healthcare plans.
Sen. Tom Tillis, RN.C., will depart from a luncheon with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol on June 1, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Money Maker/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Tillis warned in a speech on the floor. Senate Republican “We are trying to make the mistake of betraying our healthcare and commitment to Medicaid.”
“I’m telling the president that you’re being misinformed. You’ll hurt those who are eligible and qualified for Medicaid to support the Senate Mark,” he said.
Announced that he would not seek reelection over the weekend, the two-term senator said while agreeing to work requirements, the July 4 deadline is “artificial” and lawmakers should “take the time to get this right.”
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When asked about Tillis’s position, a White House press officer Karoline Leavitt “He’s just wrong,” Trump said over the weekend that he told lawmakers about legislation.
“This bill protects Medicaid… for those who really deserve this program, poor, pregnant women, children, sick Americans who cannot work physically. It ensures that healthy Americans who can work 20 hours a week will actually do so.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt during his daily briefing at the James S. Brady Press briefing room at the White House on Tuesday, April 15th, 2025. (Demetrius Freeman/Washington Post via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Leavitt added that the measure will address “waste, fraud and abuse” and remove around 1.4 million illegal immigrants from the program.
“Of course, there’s more to be done, but this will be the basis for a more comprehensive review of future Medicaid programs and reforms that ensure that America needs the most vulnerable care,” Schaefer told FOX Business.
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Trump met with Senator Mike Johnson and Senator Mike Johnson, and Senator John Tune (R – SD) at the White House on Monday. Leavitt said the White House is confident that the bill will cross Trump’s desk by July 4th.