The legacy media have been in a tailspin covering the second Trump administration. The American people voted for government reform in November, and we have seen actions taken by the president aiming to accomplish that.
It’s funny what a few months and a new administration can bring. Many special-interest organizations that demanded the Biden administration target the market-based Medicare Advantage program for cuts and investigations are turning their focus on conservative policymakers in the House, making the claim that they are, in fact, the ones seeking to take away people’s benefits. The old playbook of accusing your opponent of doing what you are guilty of is being dusted off.
It’s apparent to most Americans that the over-the-top messaging they see is manufactured. Reporting has revealed that the Department of Government Efficiency protests over reforms designed to increase government efficiency and transparency are being led by left-leaning groups like MoveOn and the Working Families Party. Other groups like Protect Our Care appear to be running ads leading the charge to “save Medicaid” while pretending they played no role in trying to kill Medicare Advantage.
This plan likely will not work for two reasons.
—First, the numbers don’t match up. Recent polls from the Center for Excellence in Polling found that Americans overwhelmingly want to reform Medicaid through several routes. These include ending waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicaid system, adding work requirements for welfare benefits, and preventing undocumented immigrants from receiving federal welfare benefits.
Seventy-five percent of voters surveyed supported “requiring able-bodied adults to work, train or volunteer at least 20 hours per week” to be eligible for welfare benefits. Seventy-two percent of voters opposed undocumented immigrants receiving welfare benefits, while 68 percent of voters surveyed opposed them receiving food stamps eligibility. Additionally, 75 percent of voters said that Congress should require frequent welfare eligibility checks from appropriate agencies to ensure those receiving benefits are in need, and 71 percent of voters would support work requirements for welfare programs if they knew the taxpayer funds would be preserved for the genuinely needy. And 76 percent of voters supported a universal work requirement for welfare.
These overwhelming numbers calling for reform come on the heels of more- concerning data detailing the waste, fraud and abuse within Medicaid. The 2024 fiscal year saw $31 billion in improper Medicaid payments — an error rate of 5.09 percent. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that Medicaid’s 10-year forecast costs $8.2 trillion; 5.09 percent of $8.2 trillion is $417 billion.
However, there is hope for these numbers: the Center for Excellence in Polling estimates that adding work requirements and ending waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid will save the nation $2 trillion.
—Second, Americans see through the conflicting competing messaging that is running opposite to what is unfolding in front of their eyes. One of former president Joe Biden’s most notable promises was not to make any cuts to Medicare while he held the Oval Office — a promise he reneged on by attacking and making cuts to Medicare Advantage.
After the Biden cuts, 1.3 million Americans lost their healthcare plan, and the pain did not end there. Last year, seniors enrolled in the Medicare Advantage program in 19 states faced skyrocketing premiums by 10 percent due to rampant inflation. These seniors are facing, on average, $400 or more in out-of-pocket expenses in 2025. Americans do not forget that quickly, and the new polling suggests they are eager for change.
So, here we are at the precipice of change. Americans voted for reform in our federal government and have embraced efforts to reduce waste, fraud and abuse, according to a recent poll by Harvard-Harris. Yet, manufactured outrage continues to hit the airwaves and internet, driven by special-interest groups with a track record of attacking the functional components of our entitlement system. And, like the town of the boy who cried wolf, Americans’ patience with these groups and individuals is running thin.
