“One out of every $5 or $6 in Medicaid (payments) is improper.”
What PolitiFact found
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported in 2024 that Medicaid’s improper payment rate over the previous three years was less than 5.1%. A health policy analyst who worked for the White House during President Donald Trump’s first term has said methodological shortcomings in the agency’s analysis could mean the rate is as high as 25%. But this is speculative.
Their words, from the summary they publish with the rating.
In short
Russell Vought (OMB director) made this claim around 1 June 2025. PolitiFact (United States) looked into it and published its finding on 4 June 2025, 3 days later. Its rating was “Mostly False”.
Where the claim appeared
- transcripts.cnn.comhttps://transcripts.cnn.com/show/sotu/date/2025-06-01/segment/01
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This check was done by PolitiFact, not by DoesItStand. We list it so you can find it. Their full evidence and reasoning are in their article.