I suspect there is much more to this story - specifically WHAT are 'these demonstration and pilot programs' that are being funded. The expenditures are not just for 'publicity' - which is the implication (FALSE: imo) of the JW piece- but that doesn't mean that JW and the GAO (government accountabiliy office) have not exposed a massive amount of corruption (1/3 of all Medicaid payments - almost a full 10$ of the NATIONAL BUDGET).
Medicaid Blows $109 Billion on Promotional “Demonstrations”
MAY 10, 2017
http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2017/05/medicaid-blows-109-billion-promotional-demonstrations/
In a classic example of government waste, the taxpayer-funded program (Medicaid) that provides health insurance for the poor spends over $100 billion on “demonstrations” to promote the benefit that already covers millions of people nationwide. That’s an astounding 33% of Medicaid’s total federal budget for experiments and projects that supposedly help states test and evaluate new approaches to deliver the welfare benefit, which is already spread thin.
Medicaid is administered by states and is jointly funded by the federal government and states. Millions of low-income adults, children, pregnant women and people with disabilities are covered under the program, which cost American taxpayers an eye-popping $545.1 billion in 2015, according to government figures. A little-known section of the Social Security Act gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) authority to approve experimental, pilot or demonstration projects that promote the objectives of Medicaid and its counterpart, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as if they really need to be further publicized. The purpose of the demonstrations, according to the Social Security Act, is to expand eligibility to individuals who are not otherwise Medicaid or CHIP eligible, provide services not typically covered by Medicaid and use innovative service delivery systems that improve care, increase efficiency and reduce costs.
...
California takes the prize for wasting $76.4 million on Medicaid demonstrations in a five-year period analyzed by investigators from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress. The Golden State went from spending 2.6% of its Medicaid expenditures on demonstrations in 2005 to a whopping 55% in 2015. California’s exorbitant demonstration budget caught the attention of congressional investigators who flagged state for having financial compliance issues. “As of the end of fiscal year 2013, California withdrew $1.3 billion more in federal matching funds for its Medicaid program than it reported in actual expenditures and according to CMS officials California could not account for the difference,” the report states, adding that the discrepancy is specifically related to demonstrations.
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