This bombshell federal audit slamming Colorado's Medicaid program for shelling out over 220,000 payments for "health care" to dead people is the smoking gun we've all been waiting for—proof positive that our state's sprawling entitlement machine is a black hole of incompetence, waste, and straight-up fiscal malpractice.

We're not talking chump change:

The feds say Health First Colorado overcharged Uncle Sam by more than $6 million in federal matching funds during that 2021–2023 mess.

All because nearly 9,000 enrollees lingered on the rolls like ghosts, racking up bogus claims long after their Social Security death records should've triggered a hard stop.

And get this:

Another $3.8 million in unallowable capitation payments went to managed care outfits—for services that could've only been delivered via séance.

Bureaucrats: Deny, Deflect, Dispute

The Department of Health Care Policy & Financing is rolling out the same tired playbook:

• "Not all 'dead' enrollees are actually dead!"
• "Maybe clerical errors or outdated SSA data!"
• "We won’t repay a dime!"

Sound familiar?
It’s the exact same song as the MedRide scandal—endless extensions, endless excuses, until the axe finally falls.

This Isn’t Isolated—It’s Systemic

This HHS Office of Inspector General audit echoes a parade of red flags:

• $28.4 million in unreported overpayments (2024)
• Millions improperly claimed under Obamacare’s expanded adult group
• $1.4 billion nationwide in Medicaid funds to illegal immigrants—Colorado included

Who Pays? You Do.

• Working families crushed by sky-high premiums
• Ballooning state deficits
• Federal clawbacks that will raise costs later

The real victims?

Low-income Coloradans who actually need the program—now lost in a maze of delays while fraudsters feast.

Time for Ironclad Reform

No more blank checks.
We need:

1. Real-time death-file cross-checks
2. Zero-tolerance clawbacks with teeth
3. Hard caps on enrollment growth
4. Every dollar tied to verified outcomes

Boot the dead weight—literally.

The Bottom Line

Colorado’s $15 billion-a-year Medicaid monster isn’t delivering care—it’s devouring taxpayer dollars and rewarding bungling and grift.

Drain this swamp before it drowns us all.