On Monday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) stated that the federal reimbursement rate for Medicaid for adults who are able-bodied should be brought more in line with the lower rate for people who are disabled and poor children.
Donalds began by saying that waste, fraud, and abuse should be cut out of Medicaid and that’s what the proposals they’re talking about do.
He added, “Number two, we do have a situation where, currently, under Medicaid, because of Obamacare, poor children, people who are disabled, they actually only get about a 50% reimbursement with state money from the federal government. But if you’re an able-bodied adult who can go into the economy, get a job, earn money, and have your own health care, we reimburse at a 90% clip from the federal government. That doesn’t make any sense. So, it’s about actually bringing that able-bodied population to be closer to be in line with poor children in America, people who are disabled and are hurting in America. That’s just basic, common sense. I think, on a broader level, it is about lowering the cost curve here in Washington, D.C. We can’t continue to borrow at the same velocity of federal bonds, because that is driving up interest rates and borrowing costs on families and on small businesses. It’s not sustainable, Washington has to get the fiscal house in order.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
