Closing Department of Education Popular

 

This blog is normally dedicated to discussing issues concerning healthcare. But long-time readers will know my second most passionate subject is education. The reason for this is simple; education is the ticket to a successful life, especially to lifting low-income students out of poverty. With a good education there is no limit to what anyone can accomplish if they are determined and willing to work hard.

But education has been an uneven playing field for millions of children in our country, especially those who grow up in our inner cities. Poor schools lead to poor education, which leads to children trapped in poverty.

The statistics on our education system are alarming, to put it mildly. Since the Department of Education was founded in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter, the federal government has spent over three trillion dollars on education – and our children are less educated than they ever were before!

This is unacceptable and President Trump is trying to do something about it. He has just signed an executive order to close the Department of Education and return control of education to the states. The process of actually closing the department will take time and Congressional approval, but this is a good first step.

How popular is the idea of closing the Department of Education?

I’m glad you asked. The Epoch Times has just published the results of a survey done of the American people to measure their response to this question. Here is what Tom Ozimek writes in The Epoch Times: “A new Epoch Times survey reveals overwhelming support among readers for reforming—and in many cases, eliminating—the Department of Education. Respondents strongly favored reducing the department’s workforce, transferring control of education policy to the states, and giving parents greater influence over school decisions.” 

The poll, which drew over 31,000 responses, was conducted in the days leading up to President Donald Trump’s March 20 executive order, which launched the process of dismantling the Department of Education and returning educational authority to state governments.

Since its establishment in the late 1970s, the Department of Education has spent more than $3 trillion. Yet, according to a White House fact sheet academic performance has stagnated. Despite a 245 percent increase in per-pupil spending, math and reading scores have declined, and American students consistently rank behind peers in other developed nations.

In a speech before signing the order, Trump said federal efforts in education have failed to deliver results. “Today we take a very historic action that was 45 years in the making,” he said. “My administration will take all lawful steps to shut down the Department,” Trump continued. “We’re going to shut it down, and shut it down as quickly as possible—it’s doing us no good.”

A central finding in the survey is the near-unanimous backing for reducing the Department of Education’s workforce. Ninety-three percent of respondents supported the move, with 85 percent saying they “strongly agree.” Only 6 percent were opposed. That view was reinforced by answers to a related question, in which 85 percent said that cutting the department’s staff and shifting control to the states would improve the quality of education in their own communities.

Here are some of the survey responses:

  1. I support the decision to reduce the Department of Education’s workforce.

Strongly Disagree: 5 percent

Disagree: 1 percent

Neutral: 2 percent

Agree: 8 percent

Strongly Agree: 85 percent

93 percent agree (85 percent strongly agree, 8 percent agree) Only 6 percent disagree (5 percent strongly disagree, 1 percent disagree) Neutral: 2 percent

  1. Parents should have more influence in decisions regarding school curriculum, policies, and educational standards.

Strongly Disagree: 2 percent

Disagree: 2 percent

Neutral: 3 percent

Agree: 8 percent

Strongly Agree: 85 percent

93 percent agree (85 percent strongly agree, 8 percent agree) Only 4 percent disagree (2 percent strongly disagree, 2 percent disagree)

  1. Cutting the Department of Education’s workforce and shifting control to states will improve education quality in my community.

Strongly Disagree: 5 percent

Disagree: 2 percent

 Neutral: 8 percent

 Agree: 17 percent

Strongly Agree: 68 percent

85 percent agree (68 percent strongly agree, 17 percent agree) Only 7 percent disagree (5 percent strongly disagree, 2 percent disagree) Neutral: 8 percent

  1. States should have control over education policy without involvement from the federal government.

Strongly Disagree: 4 percent

Disagree: 3 percent

Neutral: 8 percent

Agree: 20 percent

Strongly Agree: 65 percent

85 percent agree (65 percent strongly agree, 20 percent agree) Only 7 percent disagree (4 percent strongly disagree, 3 percent disagree) Neutral: 8 percent

  1. Shifting control to states will ultimately improve America’s performance in global education rankings.

Strongly Disagree: 4 percent

Disagree: 2 percent

Neutral: 9 percent

Agree: 20 percent

Strongly Agree: 65 percent

85 percent agree (65 percent strongly agree, 20 percent agree) Only 6 percent disagree (4 percent strongly disagree, 2 percent disagree) Neutral: 9 percent

More survey results next post.

Medicaid Costs Out of Control – Part II

 

In Part I of this series, I discussed the current over-reaction on the left to the Trump Administration’s desire to reduce the rising costs of Medicaid. We learned that Medicaid is actually the worst form of health insurance, even worse than no health insurance at all! But Democrats have been eager to expand the rolls of Medicaid since it puts more Americans under the control of the federal government when it comes to their healthcare. To achieve that goal, they have been willing to push the envelope of eligibility to the extremes, even declaring an emergency when none exists.

I explained this last statement in an earlier post in August, 2024. I will repost much of that information here so you will understand what is driving the costs of Medicaid out of control:

 

“Medicaid keeps on growing like kudzu vine in a forest. Kudzu grows like a wildfire out of control and the Biden government has no interest in stopping it. They actually want it to take over everything.

This process began with the Affordable Care Act of 2010, better known as ObamaCare, which the Obama Administration pushed through Congress without a single Republican vote. Medicaid eligibility was originally defined by the federal government as 133% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) for pregnant women and children six years and under, 100% of FPL for children seven to eighteen, 75% of FPL for the elderly and disabled and 25% of FPL for working parents. Childless adults were ineligible. Individual states may increase these levels but may not decrease them.

ObamaCare changed all that by establishing one federal definition of eligibility at 133% of FPL. It also enticed states to increase their Medicaid rolls by offering to increase the federal subsidy from a then current average of 57% of the costs to 100% of the costs for “newly eligible” people in 2014 for three years. Thereafter the subsidies would gradually decline to 90% in 2020, but none beyond that. Many states were sucked in by this incentive only to have buyer’s remorse when the rolls of their Medicaid population ballooned past expectations and they were left with huge debts in their state’s budgets. But the federal government was only too delighted to have more people on the rolls of Medicaid.

Then the Covid pandemic hit in 2020. This gave the new Biden Administration just the excuse they needed in 2021 to expand the rolls of Medicaid further. They extended the temporary expanded eligibility guidelines of the Trump Administration well beyond the pandemic crisis to allow millions of Americans to enroll in Medicaid who did not meet the economic eligibility guidelines.

Fast forward to today and now we see the Biden, or should I say Harris, Administration going further in their quest to expand Medicaid. Here is how the Wall Street Journal editorial board described it: “Kamala Harris this week praised North Carolina’s new plan to wipe out medical debt. What the Vice President didn’t say is that the Biden Administration is making taxpayers in the rest of America pay for it. Behold how the Administration is turning Medicaid into an entitlement for progressive policies far beyond healthcare for the poor.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last week approved North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s plan to increase federal Medicaid reimbursements for hospitals that agree to forgive medical debt and discount future bills for low- and middle-income patients. Urging other states to follow, Ms. Harris promised to continue “to relieve the burden of medical debt.”

This could be an expensive proposition. Americans owe more than $220 billion in medical debt, though perhaps Ms. Harris considers it a pittance relative to the more than $800 billion in student debt the Administration has written down. Enter Mr. Cooper, who is dangling more Medicaid money for hospitals that waive debt accrued over the last decade by patients earning less than 350% of the poverty line—$109,200 for a family of four—or whose unpaid bills exceed 5% of their annual income. Hospitals will also have to provide large discounts for patients earning less than 300% of the poverty line.

Larger federal Medicaid payments would exceed the amount of potential debt relief. But this may still be a Faustian bargain for hospitals since debt relief could cause patients to skip out on future bills. Reducing patient payments for emergency visits could also spur more to go without insurance, resulting in more uncompensated care.

Why is this government so eager to enroll more Americans in Medicaid? This is all about expanding the welfare state to make more Americans dependent on the government. It is one more step toward socialized medicine, the complete government control of your healthcare. Don’t be fooled! When they are in complete control of your healthcare, they are in complete control of who gets treatment and who does not.”

 

Today, the Trump Administration is trying to reign in the costs of Medicaid that now exceed the Defense Budget. These costs have skyrocketed in the last 15 years, more than doubling from $402 Billion in 2010 to $894 Billion in 2024.It is clear that would be good for the country – and it would be good for the millions of Americans who find themselves stuck with Medicaid – the worst form of health insurance available.

Medicaid Costs Out of Control

 

Medicaid has been in the news a lot lately. Democrats would have you believe that Republicans, especially President Trump, are out to gut Medicaid. They want you to believe millions of people will die without Medicaid if this is allowed to happen.

There’s a Greek word for this – Hogwash! I’ve been writing about Medicaid since 2014 and it’s about time to set the record straight. Here’s what I said in 2014: “It is a favorite talking point of the left that the expansion of Medicaid will “save lives”. Liberal journalist Scott Maxwell of The Orlando Sentinel made this exact assertion recently in a column. It’s easy to see why Maxwell might believe that. Without information to verify that assumption, one would assume that giving people Medicaid insurance would improve their health and, in some cases, even save lives.”

But research often refutes our sincere assumptions. In 2008 the State of Oregon was faced with a dilemma. They wanted to expand Medicaid eligibility to more residents but they didn’t have enough money to pay for everyone. So they held a lottery for low-income, uninsured adults. This created an ideal situation for studying the impact of Medicaid in a randomized, prospective manner.

This study, known as The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, is an ongoing study, which has already revealed significant information. Thus far, researchers have learned that having Medicaid does not improve health, at least in standard measurements of blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. Medicaid reduced observed rates of depression by 30% but increased the probability of being diagnosed with depression. Medicaid significantly increased the probability of being diagnosed with diabetes and the use of diabetes medication, but did not have the expected impact of lowering blood sugar.

It has always been postulated that the uninsured are more likely to use Emergency Rooms at hospitals for their health care than the insured. By this reasoning, expansion of Medicaid would lower the use of hospital Emergency Rooms and contribute to solving this chronic problem, which poorly utilizes health care resources and increases costs. Unfortunately, the Oregon study showed the opposite. Those with newly enrolled Medicaid were 40 percent more likely to use the Emergency Room than the uninsured. This means expanding Medicaid will actually exacerbate this problem and increase the cost of delivering health care.

How to explain this surprising truth? John C. Goodman, founder of The National Center for Policy Analysis, explains this in his book, Priceless. Goodman says having Medicaid may actually be worse than having no insurance at all. That’s because most doctors do not accept Medicaid patients and the ones who do often ration their appointments making waiting times very long. Medicaid patients respond by going to the Emergency Room where they are sure to be seen the same day.

So, Medicaid is actually the worst type of healthcare insurance in America. Yet, it continues to expand its enrollment. Medicaid has grown from about 52 million Americans in 2010 to 72 million in 2024. The cost of Medicaid has grown from about $402 Billion in 2010 to $894 Billion in 2024, more than doubling in 15 years. It now exceeds the Defense Department budget of $841 Billion. It has grown 7.9% just since 2023. Clearly, Medicaid costs are out of control.

What has caused this rapid expansion of the cost of Medicaid?

 

I will address this question in the next post.