Trump Administration to End Labor Union Medicaid Dues Skimming

Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services took action to end labor union Medicaid dues skimming, promulgating a rule to fix that problem. The move was praised by Trey Kovacs, Competitive Enterprise Institute labor policy analyst:

“Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services closed an Obama-era loophole that enabled labor unions to siphon off over $100 million annually from Medicaid payments intended for homecare providers. For over a decade now, labor unions convinced state legislatures to pass laws that deemed homecare providers public employees for the sole purpose of collective bargaining. As part of this scheme, state governments automatically deducted union dues from Medicaid checks intended for homecare providers – mostly family caregivers who never asked for a union and were unionized without their knowledge. Organized labor conducted stealth organizing campaigns to unionize homecare providers, which in no state did more than half of caregivers vote in the unionization election. Worse, labor unions made it difficult for homecare providers to cancel the state’s deduction of dues from their pay.

“This final rule finally ends dues skimming, ensuring Medicaid funds reach their statutorily required destination—to fund care for the elderly and disabled. This is a commonsense rule that protects the most vulnerable in society and gives homecare providers the personal freedom to decide whether to pay union dues or not.”

Related commentary: Congress must stop union scheme siphoning funds from Medicaid