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Thursday, March 6, 2025, PST – Trump’s not cutting your Medicaid or Medicare—he’s chasing fraud, like the $2.5 million a Miami scammer hid in PVC pipes, but Green’s outburst shows even vets can misstep in the panic.
6-minute read

Picture President Donald Trump on March 4, 2025, rolling out his 312-electoral-vote win to Congress, when Rep. Al Green—a 20-year House vet—cuts in at the 22-minute mark, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid,” earning a quick ejection and a 224-198 censure by March 6. That flare-up in Trump’s nearly 100-minute speech didn’t just split the chamber—it stoked fears over Medicaid and Medicare, lifelines for over 140 million, including people like me with chronic health struggles. Green should’ve known better than to fuel the fire, but Trump’s not slashing personal benefits—he’s after fraud. Let’s cut the noise and get the facts.

Trump’s speech dodged cuts to Medicaid or Medicare eligibility or services, pushing $1.7 trillion in investments and tax breaks instead (WhiteHouse.gov Transcript). He told Fox News on February 25, “We’re not going to touch [Medicare], except for fraud,” a line holding for Medicaid too (Newsweek). That fraud? Providers, not patients—phantom billing, like Jesus Garces’ $49 million Medicare scam with cash stashed in PVC pipes under his Miami closet, or upcoding, billing a $50 visit as $200 (CNBC). The DOJ pegs it at over $100 billion yearly—labs, docs, not us (DOJ/HHS Report).

Medicaid’s $871.7 billion and Medicare’s $839.5 billion—over a third of federal spending—draw scammers like flies (CMS NHE Fact Sheet). Trump’s January glitch froze state Medicaid funds briefly—no cuts, just a mess, fixed fast—but it spooked people (CNN Politics). His Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with Elon Musk targets $1.5 billion in fraud—think Garces’ $2.5 million haul from 2021 (Transcript, Page 10, AP News, 2021). That’s the play, not your coverage.

So why the panic? Trump’s 2019 budgets floated $845 billion in Medicaid cuts, and GOP murmurs of $880 billion keep it alive (AP News, 2019, KFF). A 2025 insulin cap rollback stung some wallets, but it’s not benefits (Maynard Nexsen). Congress calls the shots on cuts—none’s up now. Fraud’s real—Garces’ pipes show it—but Green’s shout, from a guy who’s seen enough to gauge the room, stoked a fear that’s more past than present. My health stakes make it personal, but the facts say benefits hold. Get the straight dope on Ashes on Air and sound off in the comments: is this fraud hunt legit?

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Sources

• WhiteHouse.gov Transcript
• KFF
• CMS NHE Fact Sheet
• CNN Politics
• Newsweek
• Maynard Nexsen
• CNBC
• DOJ/HHS Report
• AP News, 2021
• AP News, 2019
• Bioguide.congress.gov – Green’s tenure since 2005.