Posted on 07/10/2019 9:45:13 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
For the first time in our nation's history, there is now a federal department spending an average of more than $100 billion per month.
No, it is not the Department of Defense, which is charged with the core federal responsibility of defending us from foreign enemies.
It is the Department of Health and Human Services, which, if Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has his way, will run the "Medicare for All" program.
As it now stands, HHS runs Medicare for many and Medicaid for more.
"In 2019, the program will cover an estimated 61 million persons (52 million aged and 9 million disabled)," the Congressional Research Service said of Medicare in a report published in May.
"Medicaid is a means-tested entitlement program that finances the delivery of primary and acute medical services as well as long-term services and supports (LTSS) to an estimated 75 million people at a cost to states and the federal government of $616 billion in FY2018," CRS said in a report published in June.
"CBO also estimates that federal Medicare spending (after deduction of beneficiary premiums and other offsetting receipts) will be about $637 billion in 2019, accounting for about 14% of total federal spending and 3% of GDP," said CRS.
"Mandatory spending typically accounts for the majority of the HHS budget," CRS explained in a report published in March.
"Two programs -- Medicare and Medicaid -- are expected to account for 86% of all estimated HHS spending in FY2019," it said.
In the first eight months of this fiscal year, which began in October, HHS spent $834,346,000,000, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement for May. That is up from $731,724,000,000 in the first eight months of last fiscal year.
Through all of fiscal 2018, HHS spent approximately $1,120,500,000,000 -- or $93,375,000,000 per month.
Through this full fiscal year, according to the estimate published in the Monthly Treasury Statement, HHS will spend approximately $1,230,273,000,000 -- or $102,522,750,000 per month.
In May alone, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement, HHS spent $146,552,000,000.
That equaled about $4.9 billion per day, or $196.98 million per hour, or $3.28 million per minute.
In the same month, the Department of Defense and military programs were spending $61,801,000,000 -- or about 42.17 percent of what HHS was spending that month. In the first eight months of the fiscal year, the DOD and military programs spent $439,289,000,00 -- or about 52.65 percent of the $834,346,000,000 billion that HHS spent.
The Monthly Treasury Statement estimates that the DOD and military programs will spend a total of approximately $652,234,000,000 this fiscal year -- or about 53 percent of the $1,230,273,000,000 it estimates HHS will spend.
Most other departments of the federal government spend just a small fraction of what HHS spends.
The Department of Homeland Security, which is charged with securing our borders and enforcing our immigration laws, will spend an estimated $62,267,000,000 -- or just 5.06 percent of the $1.23 trillion HHS will spend.
The Department of Justice, which is charged with enforcing federal laws, will spend an estimated $41,366,000,000 -- or just 3.36 percent of what HHS will spend.
The Department of State, which manages U.S. relations with foreign nations, will spend an estimated $29,690,000,000 -- or just 2.41 percent of what HHS will spend.
The legislative branch, which makes the laws, will spend an estimated $5,826,000,000 -- or just 0.47 percent of what HHS will spend.
Only one other federal agency or department rivals HHS for spending money. It is the Social Security Administration.
It is the federal government's other trillion-dollar baby.
In fiscal 2019, according to the estimate published in the Monthly Treasury Statement, it will spend $1,104,449,000,000. In the first eight months of this fiscal year, it spent $730,000,000,000 -- or an average of $91,250,000,000 per month.
In fiscal 2018, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement for September 2018, the Social Security Administration spent $1,039,902,000,000 while HHS was spending $1,120,500,000,000.
Those two elements of the federal government spent a combined $2,160,402,000,000 in a year when total federal spending was $4,107,741,000,000. HHS and the Social Security Administration accounted for 52.59 percent of all federal spending.
To be sure, HHS spent money on many other things in fiscal 2018 besides Medicare and Medicaid -- including, for example, $33.2 billion on the National Institutes of Health and $7.97 billion on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But its main charges, as the Congressional Research Service noted, are Medicaid and Medicare.
Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security have one thing in common besides being the primary factors that have driven federal spending above $4 trillion per year: They make people dependent on government.
I stopped worrying about the debt when I realized it wasn’t going to be our country for much longer.
Well then we are in TROUBLE because I know MANY FReepers who have needed and used medicare and in some cases to the tune of millions.
I’m not saying that’s right or wrong.
I am just saying what is.
I’ll let smarter people here debate how to fix the issue.
california just passed a law allowing illegals to get healthcare- enjoy higher taxes cali folks-
[[It is the Department of Health and Human Services,]]
Hmmm, wonder why? Oh that’s right, illegals now get to use very expensive emergency rooms as their own private doctor’s offices- who picks up the bill? Yup- taxpayers-
I don’t worry about the debt either. I’m 61 years old. Assuming the inevitable collapse happens after I’m dead.
If it happens before I die - I’ll worry then.
Let the Spanish speaking new owners pay for it, LOL!
i can only imagine trying to pay it off in pesos
many in retirement were set to have pension paid medical plan, when suddenly obamacare came along, and required mandatory switching to medicare for ~$250/mo...
Even a Latin American peasant with a third grade education knows that he’s better off WITHOUT his own Social Security number in the long run.
Been wondering how to become an “undocumented immigrant”.......
DC, USA’s new god. Creating way more than $100 billion a month, from-thin-air to control, bribe and conquer USA.
Don’t people PAY into Medicare?
Once you stop caring, then it becomes a comedy show.
Just imagine what so much good that money could do without government? Most cannot fathom how many multi-TRILLIONS that has been flushed down the toilet. I do weep for this country.
When the list of poor are accounting for as much as the folk who paid into the system for 40 years, there has to be a problem with the management.
California lets illegals get on medical. Who in their right mind ever agreed to that?
What bothers me is these things get presented like it’s regular medicare recipients who are the problem. They pull the same trick with Welfare. Nobody addresses it.
Between Medicaid and Welfare, we spend over 1.2 billion year. NEVER do you hear of these being a problem. Never!
Instead they come after retirees who were forced to pay into Social Security and Medicare.
Then you get FReepers talking about what a swell idea it would be to just cut off SS and Medicare.
I advocate for privatizing these programs, and have for thirty years, but so fare nearly 1/5th into the 21st Century, it isn’t even being discussed.
If we had started the privatization of SS and Medicare in 1990, we would be about 75% of the way there.
Instead they come after retirees who were forced to pay into Social Security and Medicare.
Then you get FReepers talking about what a swell idea it would be to just cut off SS and Medicare.
I advocate for privatizing these programs, and have for thirty years, but so fare nearly 1/5th into the 21st Century, it isn’t even being discussed.
If we had started the privatization of SS and Medicare in 1990, we would be about 75% of the way there.
Thank you!
California has been allowing illegals to get on Medical for a long long time.
They don’t talk about it, but > IMO < it has been happening.
Someone was going to pay for their health care. They sure as hell couldn’t do it.
There are a lot of reasons why illegals aliens should not be here. This is simply one more.
Newsome makes a public announcement like it’s something new, to sucker the Latinos into voting for Democrats.
We now run clinics for illegals in our K-12th grade schools.
While these kids do need to be monitored while they are here for disease, they should not be here.
If we simply ignore their needs, they spread disease to our citizens.
We’re f’d on this one.
You’re welcome. Nobody is happy with the SS system.
I’d like one person to address what we the peasants could have done differently than we did
This was a ponzi scheme from the get-go.
I remember them telling us not to count on SS as our retirement, as they withheld our investment dollars for their own purposes.
[[There are a lot of reasons why illegals aliens should not be here.]]
The major reason against them being here is that they are costing us over $600 BILLION DOLLARS per year- every single year- when all the direct and incidental costs are added up- we’re closing in on $1 TRILLION DOLLARS per year spent on illegals
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