The Poverty Industrial Complex is Always Open for Business
THE ACTORS: Who benefits from cutting care? Equifax: One of the "Big Three" credit reporting agencies. Their role here is to verify Medicaid recipients' employment status for states implementing work requirements. In 2017, their CEO Richard F. Smith retired 'amid much criticism' after the company's massive data breach, but the company's predatory practices continued. Republican-led states: States
like Kentucky, Arkansas, and New Hampshire aggressively pursued Medicaid work requirements under the Trump administration, often seeing them as a way to trim budgets and reduce dependence on federal programs. These programs disproportionately impact low-income individuals, people with disabilities, and single parents. Senators Warren, Sanders, Wyden: While their letter expresses 'deep concern,'
it's worth noting the timing. The Biden administration had already signaled its intent to roll back Trump-era Medicaid work requirements, making this a safe political play. The senators are stepping in not to prevent a future outrage, but to condemn a past one and score points for the public record. THE FUNDING: Where does the money flow? Equifax's Contracts: While specific dollar amounts for
these Medicaid contracts aren't readily available in public reports (curiously), the scale of potential revenue is immense. Medicaid covers over 80 million Americans. Even a small per-capita fee for 'verification services' would translate into hundreds of millions. Consider that Equifax's total revenue in 2023 was over $5.2 billion (Equifax, 2024), a significant portion of which comes from