Free Republic

While the shutdown is needless, the Democrats are rightly concerned about healthcare cost coverage. MEDICAID EXPANSION FAIRNESS What I’m thinking of is to slightly and generally increase the state Medicaid expansion share to 5% plus the highest rate of state income tax. Right now, California pays for Medicaid expansion at 10% and rakes in 13% income tax from doctors. That would make Medicaid expansion cheaper for no income tax red states like Florida and Texas. To help fund likely Medicaid expansion to states like Texas and Florida, the state Medicaid shares (traditional & expansion) would increase annually starting in 2028...

It's been quite a while since I've done one of these, but here it goes: As of October 2025, Democrats in the Senate are using the filibuster to block a Republican bill that would temporarily fund the government, triggering a government shutdown. This is meant to pressure Republicans to negotiate on health care and other policy demands. Given that Republicans control both the White House and Congress, Democrats are using the filibuster to provide them a measure of leverage in budget negotiations. Democrats are demanding an extension of enhanced subsidies for health care plans under the ACA, aka "ObamaCare" which...

CNN's Jake Tapper confronted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Wednesday about Medicaid funding for "noncitizens," as the Democratic lawmaker argued his party was trying to save healthcare. Tapper asked Jeffries about the extension of Obamacare subsidies after the government shut down on Wednesday when Democrats and Republicans in the Senate failed to reach a spending agreement before the end of fiscal year 2025 on Sept. 30. The CNN host said Republicans "characterize it as you want to give health insurance to undocumented immigrants. I understand that's not really an accurate depiction." Jeffries responded, "It's a lie." "It's a...

If Democrats were to succeed in their funding proposal, parolees — still illegal aliens in any common-sense understanding — would gain access to federal health care benefits.The federal government shut down on Wednesday after Democrats refused to vote on a clean continuing resolution to keep the government funded for the next seven weeks. When Republicans pointed out that Democrats were unwilling to vote to fund the government without restoring health care eligibility for illegal aliens, the media and other Democrats jumped into action, “fact-checking” Republicans and claiming that wasn’t true. These “fact checks” rely on the ludicrous claim that foreign...

A $1.8 billion lawsuit brought by an anonymous activist and the state of Texas is seeking to recover money they say Planned Parenthood illegally took from Medicaid. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday in the case, Doe v. Planned Parenthood. When Planned Parenthood was exposed for selling fetal tissue and organs, Louisiana and Texas quickly moved to revoke the organization’s Medicaid eligibility. Court orders delayed the revocation. As the courts debated Planned Parenthood’s eligibility, the group continued to make Medicaid reimbursement claims despite the uncertain status until 2020, when the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals...

What if I told you that cartels and other bad actors from around the world conspired to undermine the integrity of the health care system in the U.S. and came way too close to succeeding? If you didn’t hear about the bust of 324 people; the U.S.-based cartel shell medical supply companies; the pill mills pushing opioids; the doctors on the take; or how law enforcement captured many of the bad guys at the U.S. border and airports as they rushed to escape, that’s understandable. The feds revealed this potential $14.6 billion "depth charge" planted inside the Medicaid, Medicare, and...

An audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found multiple issues with how the state identified out-of-state Medicaid members, and found close to $1.2 billion in managed care premiums that were paid for members who may have resided outside of New York. Auditors found that the state Department of Health (DOH) did not properly check to confirm that Medicaid members were New York residents and waited too long to recoup improper payments. “Medicaid is a vital program and the single biggest expense in the state budget. We cannot afford any wasteful spending,” DiNapoli said. “If a person is...

This morning the House passed a clean CR designed to fund the government through November, thereby avoiding the possibility of a shutdown at the end of this month. Democrats how vowed not to support it in the Senate.The vote was 217-212, with one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, joining Republicans in voting yes. Two Republicans — conservative Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee and Victoria Spartz of Indiana — and all other Democrats voted against the bill.The short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, now heads to the Senate, where Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other...

BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. appeals court panel on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to block Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood while legal challenges continue. A federal judge in July ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding as the nation’s largest abortion provider fights Trump’s administration over efforts to defund the organization in his signature tax legislation. Medicaid is a government health care program that serves millions of low-income and disabled Americans. Nearly half of Planned Parenthood’s patients rely on Medicaid. A provision in Trump’s tax bill instructed the federal government to end...

BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. appeals court panel on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to block Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood while legal challenges continue.

Recent information from July 7, 2025, indicates that Planned Parenthood has sued the current Trump administration over a new law in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" that would strip Medicaid funding from its health centers. Planned Parenthood argues this provision is unconstitutional and specifically targets them to punish them for their association with abortion services, even though federal law prohibits using these funds for abortion procedures. Planned Parenthood has stated that this measure could lead to the closure of nearly 200 clinics nationwide. An Obama-appointed judge, Judge Indira Talwani, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts...

An appeals court panel has ruled that the Trump administration can prevent Planned Parenthood Federation of America from receiving Medicaid funding, overturning a lower court decision.A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an order against two injunctions issued by a district court against the defunding of Planned Parenthood.“We denied without prejudice as premature the defendants' motion to stay the injunctions pending the disposition of those appeals, while a motion for similar relief was pending in the district court,” read the brief order.“The July 21, 2025, preliminary injunction and the July 28, 2025,...

This week, President Trump officially launched his push to remove illegal aliens from state Medicaid rolls by cross-checking them against federal databases, a move that’s sure to send Democrats running to the courts yet again. But when it comes to illegal immigrants and welfare, Democrats have a serious problem — and it’s not just their continuing slide in favorability. It’s that they just can’t make up their minds about whether those here illegally are receiving federal Medicaid dollars at all. When Congress was debating Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, one of the left’s oft-repeated refrains was that there was...

The Trump administration is cracking down on noncitizens receiving Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program benefits, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The center launched an oversight program, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to provide states with reports of individuals enrolled in Medicaid who do not appear on federal databases. “We are tightening oversight of enrollment to safeguard taxpayer dollars and guarantee that these vital programs serve only those who are truly eligible under the law,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The system will focus on diabetes, weight management, and digital tools for patient check-ins. The Trump administration announced it is launching a new program that will allow Americans to share personal health data and medical records across health systems and apps run by private tech companies, promising that will make it easier to access health records and monitor wellness. More than 60 companies, including major tech companies like Google, Amazon and Apple as well as health care giants like UnitedHealth Group and CVS Health, have agreed to share patient data in the system. The initiative will focus on diabetes and...

SLIDELL, La. — A Slidell woman has been arrested for allegedly purchasing a Lamborghini and plastic surgery while on government assistance. Agents with the Attorney General Liz Murrill's Louisiana Bureau of Investigation arrested Candace Taylor, 35, of Rousset Ridge in Slidell on Monday. Agents said they received a complaint from the Louisiana Department of Health regarding Taylor allegedly committing Medicaid Recipient Fraud. According to the complaint, Taylor underreported her income in order to receive Medicaid benefits. Arrest records between 2020 and 2024 showed that Taylor engaged in a series of actions to apply for and receive Medicaid benefits through misrepresentation,...

SACRAMENTO — For nearly 20 years, Maria would call her sister — a nurse in Mexico — for advice on how to manage her asthma and control her husband’s diabetes instead of going to the doctor in California. She didn’t have legal status, so she couldn’t get health insurance and skipped routine exams, relying instead on home remedies and, at times, getting inhalers from Mexico. She insisted on using only her first name for fear of deportation. Things changed for Maria and many others in recent years when some Democratic-led states opened up their health insurance programs to low-income immigrants...

https://x.com/doge/status/1946345134724886702Department of Government Efficiency@DOGEGreat partnership and collaboration with the @CMSGov team to help eliminate $14B in duplicative Medicaid and ACA enrollment. After identifying the correct databases and validating datasets, the CMS and DOGE teams were able to uncover 2.8 million Americans improperly enrolled in multiple programs.CMS will be working with states to delete duplicative enrollments and ensure that NO individuals lose their one, lawful health insurance policy. As a result of this effort, beneficiaries will now receive the appropriate level of care without placing undue burden on the American taxpayer.DrOzCMS@DrOzCMS·Jul 17CMS found 2.8 million Americans enrolled in two or more...

Unnecessary, Duplicate Enrollment Wasting $14 Billion Annually The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) continue to crush fraud, waste, and abuse in America’s healthcare programs by stopping duplicative enrollment in government health programs, with the potential to save taxpayers approximately $14 billion annually. A recent analysis of 2024 enrollment data identified 2.8 million Americans either enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in multiple states or simultaneously enrolled in both Medicaid/CHIP and a subsidized Affordable Care Act (ACA) Exchange plan. CMS is taking action to ensure individuals are only enrolled in one program and to stop...

Live by the federal subsidy ... well, you know the rest. And if not, Robert Kennedy Jr just served up a big reminder.Republicans in Congress got thwarted in their attempt to defund providers delivering pediatric sex-change therapies. Instead, the HHS Secretary will act within his authority to deny Medicare and Medicaid funds to hospitals and clinics that provide these services, forcing them into a choice between funding for actual care and pandering to the extreme Left at the expense of children. National Review got the scoop:The Department of Health and Human Services will soon begin the rule-making process to prohibit...