Washington, D.C. - Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Chairman of the House Budget Committee Health Care Task Force, led a second Budget Health Care Task Force roundtable discussing the costly effects of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). 

The CMMI was originally projected to save tax dollars but now has added billions to our national debt. During the roundtable, members discussed the recent CBO report which found CMMI is not realizing projected tax dollar savings. 

“When the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation was first established in 2010, it was projected to save taxpayer dollars. Fast forward to 2024, it has cost Americans billions of dollars and continues to increase federal spending, day by day,” said Congressman Burgess. “I was grateful to host the second Budget Health Care Task Force roundtable, as we discussed ways and different pieces of legislation that we can put forth which will reduce federal health spending and improve patients' access to affordable, quality healthcare. Our Health Care Task Force will continue conducting oversight into federal spending programs to protect taxpayer dollars.”

Congressman Burgess was joined by members of the Budget Health Care Task Force, Director Phillip Swagel of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and Demetrios Kouzoukas of Paragon Health Institute, who previously served as the head of the Medicare program under the Trump administration.

Background:

Established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, CMMI receives $10 billion in mandatory funding every decade to conduct pilot programs that test new payment models in federal health programs, primarily Medicare.

In 2010, CBO projected that CMMI would produce net savings over the 10-year budget window. Notably, given the CBO’s estimate that CMMI would create budgetary savings, establishing CMMI was used to “offset” some of the spending priorities in the ACA to abide by Congressional budget requirements.

However, in September 2023, CBO revised its original analysis of CMMI, finding that not only is CMMI not saving money, but it has increased federal spending and will continue to do so in the future. In fact, CBO found that between 2011 and 2020, CMMI increased the debt by $5.4 billion dollars and will cost an additional $1.3 billion by 2030.

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