Medicaid is the federal government’s primary healthcare program for low-income people. According to federal estimates, Medicaid averaged $42 billion in overpayments per year from 2015 to 2024, which was 10% of the program’s outlays. Per the U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Once fraudulent or improper payments are made, the government is likely to only recover pennies on the dollar.” Since Medicaid was founded in 1965, the portion of the U.S. population receiving Medicaid benefits for the entire year has increased from 2% in 1966 to 26% in 2024.