Wyden, Warren Seek Answers from Contractor that Stands to Profit as Millions Lose Health Care Coverage

WASHINGTON, June 10 -- Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued the following news release:

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Wyden, Warren Seek Answers from Contractor that Stands to Profit as Millions Lose Health Care Coverage

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Maximus, which has spent millions lobbying federal lawmakers on safety net programs like Medicaid, has a history of raking in profits by ejecting millions of Americans off of their health insurance

Washington D.C.-- U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said today they have written to Maximus, the largest contractor for Medicaid eligibility determinations, regarding the company's potential profiteering under a Republican plan to cut Medicaid.

In a warning of what could come if so-called "work requirements" pass into law, the senators pressed Maximus on its business strategy of kicking millions of low-income Americans off their Medicaid coverage--even when they meet all the program's eligibility requirements--to earn more profit.

"As the largest contractor for Medicaid eligibility determinations, your company would likely assess whether individuals meet the requirements outlined in the Republican bill, giving you extraordinary power over Americans' access to health care," the senators wrote. "But your company has an abysmal track record, with reports of egregious backlogs and service delays and several reported instances of fraud."

Medicaid is a crucial health insurance program for millions of low- and middle-income Americans, covering about one in three Oregonians enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan. Trump and congressional Republicans are pushing to make the largest cuts to Medicaid in the program's history, including nearly $350 billion in cuts from implementing so-called "work requirements." The independent, non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will rip away health insurance coverage from more than 10 million Americans and that work requirements alone will result in almost 5 million people losing Medicaid.

In addition to its troubling track record in Medicaid, Maximus has also:

1. Required Americans to submit intrusive personal information to complete eligibility checks, which was subsequently stolen in massive data breaches.

2. Raked in profits for cycling some of America's poorest individuals in and out of short-term, low-paying jobs rather than placing them in stable, long-term employment.

3. Spent millions in recent years on lobbying and campaign contributions to federal, state, and local campaigns to persuade political leaders to implement stricter eligibility requirements for programs like Medicaid--knowing that its shareholders and bottom line would benefit when vulnerable Americans faced more red tape.

"Maximus profited not from promoting work--the stated goal of Republican policymakers--but instead from trapping low-income Americans in a cycle of poverty, with individuals falling into and out of employment and eligibility for benefits in part due to the perverse incentives in your state contracts," the senators wrote.

Maximus' stock has climbed as Trump and Republicans raced to pass legislation that would impose red tape requirements on Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries. With $100 million set aside in Republicans' new bill to implement Medicaid red tape requirements just in fiscal year 2026, Maximus potentially stands to gain tens of millions worth of contracts in the coming years, representing a more than 30x return on its lobbying expenditures.

Maximus has even made clear to investors that the "Big Beautiful Bill" creates numerous pathways to profit, stating that "changes that require customer engagement... increase our activity volume" and that "a reduction in Medicaid recipients may not necessarily decrease consumer engagement, especially if eligibility verification or activity reporting requirements become more frequent than today."

"All of this raises serious questions about your ability to effectively administer Medicaid eligibility determinations and avoid the perverse incentives that allow you to benefit from kicking even more Americans off of Medicaid if Donald Trump and Republicans' 'Big Beautiful Bill' becomes law," the senators continued. "With millions of dollars spent on lobbyists in Washington and around the nation, you have worked to enact the largest Medicaid cuts in the program's history--and ensure that your company and you personally will financially benefit."

The senators are pressing Maximus for information on its lobbying efforts and concerning track record of implementing so-called "work requirements" in other federal programs.

The full text of the letter is here.

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Original text here: https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-warren-seek-answers-from-contractor-that-stands-to-profit-as-millions-lose-health-care-coverage