United in Exposing Waste and Eliminating CMMI
Eliminating government waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement is challenging. Every program receives the taxpayer’s money and support from vested interests, and its existence is rarely tied to results. Congress is supposed to provide oversight and accountability but even when hearings are held, they do not usually lead to the consolidation or elimination of programs.
In 2025, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) took a significant step in the effort that the organization began in 2016 to eliminate the waste and abuse stemming from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) and its impact on patients, seniors, families and taxpayers. The effort included a multi-media campaign and the creation of a coalition of organizations that share concerns about CMMI and are working together to expose its failures and build sustained pressure for meaningful action against this bureaucratic boondoggle.
CMMI was created in the Affordable Care Act with a narrow mandate to create limited payment and service models for Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. On February 23, 2026, 42 organizations signed a letter urging Congress to eliminate CMMI, noting among other failures that it was supposed to save taxpayers $2.8 billion in its first decade but instead cost $5.4 billion, with another $1.3 billion in losses projected through 2030. The letter also pointed out that CMMI’s models “interfere with the decisions of doctors and patients about the best course of care, and override policy decisions made by Congress. They also disrupt care delivery and burden providers with administrative complexity and undermine patient choice.”
The letter and other efforts on Capitol Hill helped lead to the April 15, 2026, introduction by Rep. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) of H.R 8293, the Abolish the CMMI Act.
Following the introduction of the legislation, 40 organizations signed a letter to the House of Representatives that was sent on May 26, 2026, urging members to support H.R. 8293. The letter noted that CMMI’s guaranteed funding “gives unelected bureaucrats broad authority to make healthcare policy decisions without any obligation to succeed. The lack of accountability and transparency and disregard for outcomes are costly for taxpayers and dangerous for patients.”
As a result of the coalition’s efforts, CMMI’s expansive authority, costly experiments, and impact on Americans are no longer flying under the radar. And this effort to expose how one federal program is failing patients and draining taxpayer dollars has helped fuel a broader push for greater oversight and accountability in government programs.
CCAGW and the organizations that have signed the letters will continue working to expose CMMI’s waste and abuse, challenge its unchecked authority, and demand accountability for the consequences it has imposed on patients and taxpayers. We are committed to seeing this fight through, and passage of H.R. 8293 should be a priority for lawmakers before the end of the 119th Congress. While the work is far from finished, it is clear that a unified voice is essential to winning the battles against government waste.
