How Fraud and Waste Harm Medicaid

President Donald Trump aims to reshape the federal government in part by dramatically cutting spending. Health care is an appealing target for cost-cutting because it accounts for about 30 percent of the federal budget. The United States spent more than $1.8 trillion on Medicare, Medicaid, and other health programs in 2023. The budget deficit was $1.7 trillion that year. Medicaid alone accounts for $616 billion in federal spending, or 8 percent of the federal budget. Medicaid is a federal and state program providing health coverage for about 80 million low-income Americans. States operate the program with oversight from the federal government, which reimburses states for a certain percentage of the amount spent for each beneficiary....