HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. argued House Republicans’ plans to reduce spending on Medicaid weren’t real cuts to the program during two hearings in front of lawmakers Wednesday.
“I don’t know if you understand this, or whether you’re just mouthing the Democratic talking points,” he told Rep. Josh Harder, D-Calif., during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the HHS budget. “The cuts to Medicaid are for fraud, waste and abuse.”
At a separate hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Kennedy said “the cuts are not true cuts,” pointing back to fraud, waste and abuse in the program.
Kennedy’s remarks come as the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has oversight over Medicare and Medicaid, advanced legislation that includes cuts to the safety-net insurance, which covers nearly 80 million people alongside the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
The plan proposes work requirements tying eligibility for Medicaid to at least 80 hours of work, education or volunteering per month, more stringent eligibility verification requirements as well as a freeze on provider taxes states use to fund their share of program spending.
The proposal would result in 10.3 million people losing Medicaid coverage and 7.6 million becoming uninsured by 2034, according to a preliminary estimate by the Congressional Budget Office released Tuesday. The Medicaid policies would reduce the federal deficit by $625 billion over the next decade.
During the House hearing Wednesday, Kennedy argued the government’s work with the Department of Government Efficiency, the Elon Musk-led effort to streamline government spending and reduce waste, found 1 million people were claiming Medicaid in multiple states and another 1 million were collecting from both Medicaid and Affordable Care Act exchange plans.
He also cited 1 million undocumented immigrants who were enrolled in the program, which a handful of states fully fund for adults. The CBO analysis estimated 1.4 million people without verified citizenship or immigration status would be uninsured in 2034.
Additionally, Kennedy said the safety-net program is at risk because of “all the able-bodied people who are not working [or] looking for jobs on Medicaid.”
However, most Medicaid beneficiaries already work, and others likely would qualify for exemptions, according to an analysis by health policy research firm KFF.
“The vast majority of folks in a community like mine who are on Medicaid are working. They want to work,” Harder said. “We’ve seen this chapter before. When you put more red tape in front of people actually getting that life-saving care, you’re going to prevent people from accessing health insurance.”
