The Trump administration was touting its cuts to Medicaid, saying it was going after fraud—despite the fact that the "fraud" consisted of billing issues, not actual fraud.
June 3, 2026NPR Heard on Morning EditionBy Julie Rovner, A MartínezThe Trump administration this week released guidance for states on the work rules many Americans on Medicaid will need to abide by in order to be eligible for benefits on Jan. 1.A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:The Trump administration is telling states how to set up work requirements for adults who get their health insurance from Medicaid. That's the program for low-income and disabled people that is funded by the federal government and states. Now, under these new rules, Medicaid recipients will need to prove that they are working, going to school or volunteering at least 80 hours a month. Work requirements were in President Trump's big tax and spending law that he signed last July. That law had a lot of Republican support, and no Democrats in Congress voted for it. Julie Rovner hosts the "What The Health?" podcast. So, Julie, why are Medicaid work requirements such a popular policy for Republicans?
The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) wrote that,
Only a handful of these Medicaid and CHIP provisions can be viewed as addressing fraud, waste and abuse but they account for only 2.5 percent of the gross Medicaid and CHIP cuts.3 States will face significant cost shifts under some of the major Medicaid and CHIP cuts, particularly those restricting state use of provider taxes, at the same time states will face other large cost shifts for SNAP benefits under the law.Similarly, the law’s provisions related to the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace eligibility and enrollment policies do nothing to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. CBO estimates that these provisions would cut gross federal Marketplace spending by an additional $213 billion over the next ten years. This also does not account for interactions and revenue effects.4 Altogether, the gross Medicaid, CHIP, and Marketplace cuts total $1.2 trillion over ten years. Even accounting for interactions, the net Medicaid, CHIP, and Marketplace cuts equal $1.1 trillion over ten years.
But there are side effects that these cuts will cause. People don't stop getting sick just because they can't afford care. It is not like a night at the movies where you can simply choose not to go. People keep getting sick! They go to hospitals, which are legally required to take all patients, regardless of their ability to pay.
A new definition for ‘medical frailty’ published by the federal government on June 1 may mean fewer people qualify for exemptions to work requirementsCT Mirrorby Keith M. Phaneuf and Katy GolvalaJune 17, 2026With about 110,000 poor adults at risk of losing Medicaid coverage under new federal work rules this January, officials are scrambling to avert a swell in uninsured patients forced to seek care through hospital emergency departments.And while maintaining preventative care for thousands remains a foremost concern, some officials fear this trend could strain hospitals’ finances — just months after state tax changes dedicated hundreds of millions extra each year to the industry.“This is the most irresponsible piece of legislation in American history,” state Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, co-chairman of the General Assembly’s Human Services Committee, said of the Medicaid rules changes enacted last July by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump.The ramifications of that legislation on states, Lesser added, “are staggering and completely boneheaded.”
The bottom line: insurance costs will soar for the rest of us. How do you think the medical system will pay for the care of those who do not have health insurance?
Trump & Company hawk their cuts, waving the banner of "stopping fraud." But they didn't eliminate the cost of healthcare... they just shifted the bill from the government's pocket to ours.
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