![AP File Photo/Dennis Cook / Former President Ronald Reagan was on to something when he said, "[A] government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life well ever see on this Earth.”](https://www.timesfreepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/103049096_031520f04-CTcleaveland.jpg?w=1216)
Former President Ronald Reagan once noted, “No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size.” That’s true, which is why what’s currently happening with Medicaid is so remarkable.
During the pandemic, Medicaid enrollment grew dramatically because the federal government tied increased emergency funding to a provision that prevented states from removing ineligible individuals from the rolls. Earlier this year, Medicaid enrollment ballooned from 65 million people to more than 94 million. That’s more than a quarter of the country’s population.
So much for Medicaid being coverage of last resort for the neediest.
Reagan foresaw that outcome. The rest of his above quote states, “Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this Earth.”
To prove his point, the White House kept renewing the emergency order even as the pandemic faded. This was a backdoor effort to permanently expand Medicaid.