Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the newly refurbished, excuse me, well, i want to call it the oversight Investigation Committee room which is sometimes used by energy and commerce, and what a but beautiful room. It is more conducive to the good hearing. This is the the first one of the 115th congress and welcome here, and welcome in the Witnesses Today. This is the and welcome back to my friend and colleague Ranking Member from colorado. This is our Medicaid Oversight Committee on existing problems and ways to strengthen the program. We are convened to examine a critical component of the Affordable Care act, medicaid and medicare expansion. It covers over 70 million americans and accounts for more than 15 of the Health Care Spending in the United States. In 2015 alone, the federal taxpayers spent over 350 billion on medicaid and the costs continue to rise each year according to the congressional budget office, and the shares are expected to rise significantly in the coming the decad
But the congress and the government created a situation where the states are rewarded for cutting traditional medicare which deals mostly with children and people who are in greater need and that because of that disincentive or incentive to spend it on the new folks, the newly found undermedicaid, under the new categories, we create the situation where states have to make a decision as to whether they quicken the shortage on the waivers, get rid of the waivers as fast as they can or spend money somewhere else. Is my understanding correct . Yes, theres both direct and indirect outcomes as related to expansion and my point is that we are not fulfilling the promises to the most vulnerable in our society, wait list or not, but we are making new promises to an ablebodied population that does not qualify for longterm Welfare Benefits and states in a situation where they have to make very tough decisions and making cuts in reimbursement rates that directly impact those with development, disab