Washington, DC — The National Health Law Program (NHeLP) strongly condemns the administration’s release of Medicaid claims data under the guise of fraud prevention. It is a bad-faith effort to manufacture suspicion around critical public programs in order to justify the deeply unpopular $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts enacted under the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
“This move is not about transparency. It is about opening the door to false political narratives to deny health care to low-income people and families. It is not wasteful for people to have health care,” said David Machledt, NHeLP’s Director of Medicaid Delivery Systems. “Medicaid is already subject to extensive federal and state oversight. Administration officials with an apparent disdain for low-income people are releasing data in ways designed to cast suspicion on entire communities instead of strengthening the systems that serve them. Releasing raw data without the context to properly interpret it leads to faulty analysis, especially when the people reviewing the data have already come to a preconceived conclusion. Fraud allegations are being inflated and weaponized to create a narrative that Medicaid itself is the problem. That is simply not true.”
“This fraud narrative cannot be separated from the $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts under OBBBA, which President Trump signed into law last summer. Cutting Medicaid by a trillion dollars will lead to real harm and suffering for millions of people. This move from the administration is a distraction and a smokescreen to mask their cruelty” said Jennifer Lav, Director of the Disability Policy at NHeLP. “These cuts will fall hardest on people with disabilities, older adults, and low-income families.”
“Health care depends on trust and confidentiality,” said Mara Youdelman, Managing Director of Federal Advocacy at NHeLP. “By releasing this data, the administration is reinforcing the perception that benefits data may be used for inappropriate and politicized purposes. When communities fear their personal information may be used for purposes beyond health care, they are less likely to seek care. Efforts to stigmatize Medicaid enrollees and portray care as suspect are part of a broader strategy to weaken the safety net, deny care to those with the least political power, and shield powerful entities from accountability.”
