he federal government doled out nearly $100 billion in what it calls “improper” Medicaid payments in 2021 — accounting for approximately one-fifth of all Medicaid payments, according to estimates.
The figure represents Washington’s latest accounting of payments that didn’t meet the various requirements for the Medicaid program, which the federal government runs jointly with the states and allows millions of low-income people access to healthcare.
The numbers were similarly high in 2020, with around $86.5 billion in Medicaid payments deemed improper, or just over 21%.
The figures have sparked concern and outrage from both right-leaning advocacy groups and lawmakers in recent years as the reported rates of improper payments have spiked. In December 2020, nine Republican senators, including Sen. Ron Johnson, wrote to the Trump administration saying that year’s rate “validated [their] prior concerns regarding the rapid growth of Medicaid abuse and misspending following the passage and implementation of Obamacare.”