By Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08)

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Sixty years ago, on July 30, 1965, in my home state of Missouri, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965, creating the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The signing ceremony was a bipartisan event, attended by Missouri’s own, former President Harry S. Truman, who became the first Medicare beneficiary in American history. Since then, these programs have transformed health care for Americans, giving many access to modern treatments and quality care for the first time.

The signing of this bipartisan legislation was a historic moment that laid the foundation for the bipartisan support the Medicare and Medicaid programs have enjoyed in the decades since. However, America’s political parties have not always agreed on how to preserve and protect these programs for those who depend on them.

Today, more than 160 million Americans rely on Medicare and Medicaid. Still, for decades, Congress failed to protect them from the waste, fraud and abuse that increased costs and reduced access and quality. Instead, Washington traded long-term solvency for short-term political gain. Reckless reforms enacted under complete Democratic control of Washington in the name of “emergency relief” or “Bidenomics” prioritized illegal immigrants accessing the resources of these programs over American citizens. It put Medicare at further risk of insolvency and allowed Medicaid costs to balloon to unsustainable levels, adding trillions of dollars to our national debt.

Rather than work with Republicans to secure these programs for future generations, Democrats have falsely attacked every attempt at reform as “cutting benefits” or “kicking Americans off their health care.” Because of Democrats’ inaction and obstruction, Medicare’s trust fund is projected to be depleted within a decade. Medicaid costs continue to soar, straining state and federal budgets. Yet thanks to President Trump and Republican leadership partnering to enact the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, both programs are now on a path to a more sustainable future.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act reforms are the most significant improvements to the social safety net in a generation. We have protected these programs for American citizens by barring illegal immigrants from receiving Medicare and Medicaid. We have prioritized the Americans these programs were created to support and in the process achieved tens of billions of dollars in savings.

Recent polling shows more than 80% of Americans support commonsense Medicaid work requirements for able-bodied adults without young children, like those we have now enacted into law. Republicans listened to the American people and strengthened these programs by requiring able-bodied and capable individuals to work, volunteer or participate in job training for at least 20 hours per week in exchange for Medicaid benefits. These reforms are designed to lift Americans out of poverty and into good-paying jobs, giving millions of people the dignity of work. The pro-growth tax provisions in the bill will also ensure that those good-paying jobs will not be in short supply.

While Democrats continue to lie and claim Republicans are “kicking millions of Americans off Medicaid and Obamacare,” the numbers tell a completely different story. Among those projected to “lose coverage” under these reforms, 48% are able-bodied adults without children who choose not to work. Eleven percent are illegal immigrants, and 13% are people who have been receiving Medicaid benefits but were ineligible in the first place. Another 12% are fraudsters who don’t submit commonsense verification requirements.

Congress must protect these programs for people who genuinely need them, and Republican reforms achieve that for every American taxpayer. Even with the responsible policies in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Medicaid spending is projected to rise nearly 25% by 2034. That fact alone confirms Democrats’ claims that Republicans are “cutting” Medicaid are simply absurd.

As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, we can also celebrate a historic victory to protect these benefits for decades. Stewardship of our social safety net programs requires a responsible path to long-term sustainability. With the reforms in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, we have made Americans a promise: We will always protect the health care benefits you rely on and ensure these programs continue to support vulnerable Americans for years to come.

Jason Smith represents Missouri’s 8th Congressional District and is chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means.