As the fight in the Senate over the "big beautiful bill" heats up, key Democrats have unveiled their own take on addressing fraud and waste in Medicaid.
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, led a group of about a dozen Democrats in releasing legislative proposals that seek to invest in and improve Medicaid while also spotlighting federal anti-fraud efforts.
The senators introduced 13 bills tackling multiple different facets of the Medicaid program. For example, Wyden co-sponsors a bill that seeks to avert the closure of labor and delivery wards by increasing Medicaid reimbursements to rural and high-need health systems.
Another bill, sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., would ensure individuals enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program can maintain continuous eligibility for 12 months.
The Republican-led reconciliation bill would institute work requirements in Medicaid, and analysts project the changes to the program could amount to cuts of more than $800 billion from the program over the next decade.
In a press briefing, Wyden slammed the GOP's "big bad healthcare bill," saying that Republicans are seeking to "hide the ball" on the implications of the legislative package given Medicaid cuts are largely unpopular.
"The fact of the matter is Democrats want to make it easier for Americans to get healthcare, rather than to put people who desperately need healthcare through bureaucratic water torture," Wyden said.
Other legislative proposals put forward by Democrats include a temporary increase in the federal match for home- and community-based services; requirements that Medicaid coverage extend to dental, vision and hearing; and allowing people to determine whether they're eligible for Medicaid or Affordable Care Act coverage when filing their tax returns.
The Democrats are also pitching enhanced coverage for substance abuse treatment, 12 months of coverage postpartum and support for individuals who are forced to relocate due to a disaster.
In the fraud arena, one of the bills would tackle funding shortfalls at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Department of Justice to make sure that fraud, waste and abuse prevention efforts are stable in the long term.