U.S. Congressman Aaron Bean introduced the Abolish the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Act on Apr. 19, aiming to dismantle an agency he says has increased federal spending and exceeded its authority.
The bill seeks to eliminate CMMI, which was established under the Affordable Care Act with a $10 billion budget per decade to test payment models intended to reduce costs and improve care. Supporters of the legislation argue that CMMI has not met its goals and instead added costs for taxpayers.
Bean said, “CMMI’s existence is yet another example of the waste and mismanagement that has come to define Washington bureaucracy. It’s time that we fight back against the bloated federal government and eliminate agencies that should never have been established in the first place. The expenditure of taxpayer dollars must be tied to results, and after 15 years of proven failures, it’s long past time to end CMMI for the good of both patients and taxpayers.”
Early projections by the Congressional Budget Office estimated $2.8 billion in savings from 2011 to 2020 through CMMI initiatives; however, actual results showed an increase in federal spending by $5.4 billion during that period, with further increases projected through 2030. Outside analyses suggest these estimates may understate true costs as mandatory models continue to underperform.
CBO projections rely on a broad interpretation of CMMI’s authority, which allows it to implement mandatory models without Congressional approval—raising concerns about Congressional oversight.
Aaron Bean is currently serving in Congress representing Florida’s 4th district after replacing John Rutherford in 2023 according to Ballotpedia. He previously served in both chambers of Florida’s legislature since 2000 as reported by MyFloridaHouse.gov. Born in Fernandina Beach in 1967, Bean resides there today at age 56 according to Wikipedia, having graduated from Jacksonville University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1989 according to Jacksonville University.
Observers will watch closely as this bill moves forward amid ongoing debates over government spending on healthcare programs.
