WASHINGTON, D.C. – The following op-ed authored by Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, appeared in Fox News this morning. “It’s been almost two weeks since the House of Representatives passed the 'One, Big, Beautiful Bill' Act (OBBBA). Yet, we continue to hear constant fearmongering by my Democrat colleagues. “I’ll remind you that the OBBBA makes tremendous strides in providing further tax cuts for middle-class, working families, promoting American manufacturing and energy dominance, and importantly, protecting the integrity of our healthcare programs to support our most vulnerable Americans. “It is a top priority of House Republicans to eliminate the waste, fraud and abuse in the programs and safeguard expectant mothers, their children, low-income seniors and especially individuals living with disabilities who are receiving Medicaid coverage. Regrettably, Democrats continue to fuel the falsehood that 13 million individuals will lose healthcare coverage under OBBBA. “According to the Congressional Budget Office, millions of ineligible individuals are receiving benefits through Medicaid, with 1.6 million people enrolled in two state Medicaid programs at the same time (and getting care paid for in both states), 1.4 million illegal immigrants, and 1.2 million enrollees who no longer qualify for eligibility. CBO also assumes there are 4.8 million able-bodied adults without dependents who would rather lose Medicaid coverage than choose to work or give back to their communities. Continuing to direct scarce resources to these ineligible recipients ultimately takes away from Americans truly in need. “Through the OBBBA, Republicans are strengthening the Medicaid program by removing ineligible beneficiaries and sustaining the program for our most vulnerable Americans. When states are no longer paying for those who shouldn’t be enrolled in the first place, that frees up money they can invest for those who actually need the care most. “As chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, please allow me to tell you the truth: pregnant women, children, seniors, and individuals living with a disability are protected under this legislation. “During our 26-and-a-half-hour marathon markup, Democrats shared stories using scare-tactics, not facts. The Democrats cited story after story about vulnerable individuals who rely on Medicaid for their daily care – like children and people with disabilities and their families – and the fact is, this bill does not impact them. If anything, we are protecting Medicaid for them. “Every vulnerable American who needs Medicaid should be protected and have access to care. That’s why House Republicans have thoughtfully curated a bill that realigns incentives in Medicaid for states to care for the most vulnerable over individuals who aren’t eligible for the program, including illegal immigrants. “While Medicaid is predominantly funded by the federal government, states are in the driver’s seat and contribute at least a third of all Medicaid costs, ultimately determining which individuals are covered, what services they receive, and how much taxpayers pay for their care. Our bill reverses a Biden-Harris policy that prohibited states from removing ineligible individuals from their rolls. “When top-down mandates from Washington crowd out state decision-making, states lose their ability to focus their efforts on core services for vulnerable populations. Our bill changes this. For example, the commonsense community-engagement requirements, also known as work requirements, require that states ensure that able-bodied adults without dependents are either working a part-time job, participating in educational programs, or volunteering in their community for 80 hours per month in order to receive Medicaid benefits. “Additionally, the bill repeals oppressive Biden-Harris era mandates that forced states to impose unrealistic staffing requirements for nursing homes that were set to close facilities and severely restrict access to care. The Biden-Harris regulators also prohibited states from following standard procedures to disenroll people who are ineligible for coverage, or even fraudulently enrolled, in Medicaid. “The rational policies in the House bill that stops coverage for illegal immigrants and allows states to remove deceased and duplicative enrollees, and otherwise ineligible beneficiaries from state Medicaid programs further ensures our federal dollars are serving the population that Medicaid was created to protect. “While the Committee’s savings help to slow the growth of the program, Medicaid is projected to grow by an estimated 25% by 2034. Over the next decade, spending in the program is expected to increase by over $1 trillion above inflation. Only Washington Democrats would say that increased funding is a cut. “Every dollar misspent on illegal immigrants and ineligible individuals in the Medicaid program means less money going to our children, our pregnant women and mothers, individuals who are disabled, and seniors. “It is disappointing that Democrats are prioritizing politics through lies and fearmongering instead of actually helping the most vulnerable Americans. House Republicans make no apologies for our continued fight to strengthen government programs that have since been riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse.” ###