The real reason this White House won’t give up its “temporary” emergency powers is much more sinister — and partisan. It’s simple: The forever-emergency status quo is allowing them to keep millions of ineligible people on welfare programs such as Medicaid and food stamps.
“In March 2020 Congress barred states from kicking ineligible people off Medicaid rolls during the emergency in return for more federal funding,” the Wall Street Journal editorial board explains . “Medicaid enrollment has ballooned to 95 million — 30% of Americans are now enrolled — from 71 million in December 2019.”
"Another reason: Congress in March 2020 suspended food-stamp work requirements during the emergency and sweetened benefits in states that maintained their own declarations,” it continues. “As of April, 41.2 million Americans were receiving food stamps — an average of $228 monthly per person — which is about 4.4 million more than before the pandemic.”
We can have a broader debate about the vast welfare state, but we’re all supposed to agree that legally ineligible people shouldn’t be receiving taxpayer dollars. Yet clearly, many are. According to the Foundation for Government Accountability, 20% — yes, 1 in 5 — of Medicaid dollars are improperly spent. (And that was before the pandemic and all these rule removals.)
