US Congress-Ky4

 

A Nurse’s Perspective: Why Cost Recovery is Key to Saving Medicaid

 

 

As a nurse who has served on the frontlines of healthcare, I stand in full support of the $200 billion in cost recovery measures over the next four years aimed at preserving and strengthening our Medicaid system. Medicaid is a critical program that must be protected to continue serving those who truly need it, American citizens who depend on it for essential healthcare.

 

These cost recovery efforts wisely focus on eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, duplicated services, billing errors, unnecessary administrative spending, and improper payments. These are not abstract problems, they are real challenges I’ve witnessed firsthand in the system.

 

By addressing these inefficiencies, we can ensure that every Medicaid dollar goes where it’s needed most: to patients, not to bureaucracy or bad actors. This is not about cutting care, as the democrats have attempted to push, it’s about protecting care. It’s about ensuring Medicaid can stay strong for those who rely on it now and in the future.

 

Importantly, the $200 billion in cost recovery represents nearly one-fifth of the total $1 trillion in federal savings proposed in the broader bill. This highlights that a significant portion of the fiscal responsibility is focused on rooting out inefficiency and fraud, smart reforms that reduce government spending without slashing coverage.

 

 

Medicaid costs have continued to climb well beyond the COVID-19 era. If we fail to act, this trajectory will threaten the program’s future and the care of millions of vulnerable Americans.

 

 

 

Niki Lee Ethington