In 1997, Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich shocked Washington by coming together to pass the Balanced Budget Act — a bipartisan deal that led to the first federal budget surplus in nearly 30 years.
But what did it really change?
This episode breaks down how the BBA cut $112 billion from Medicare, reshaped Medicaid, created Medicare+Choice (now Medicare Advantage), introduced the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), and paired healthcare cuts with $95 billion in tax breaks.Was it fiscal responsibility… or the beginning of a long-term shift toward privatization?
We’re diving into the 1995 government shutdown, the “Third Way,” rural hospital impacts, the Doc Fix crisis, and what critics like Bernie Sanders warned about on the House floor.

www.stayskeptical.com
Wise Wolf Gold: https://www.wolfpack.gold/?ref=jvujkwgs
Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jcwvgWpPz8GqLxNwpeJM7AHqBJL2O3JWVdE8ggKK7_8/edit?usp=sharing

www.stayskeptical.com
Wise Wolf Gold: https://www.wolfpack.gold/?ref=jvujkwgs
Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jcwvgWpPz8GqLxNwpeJM7AHqBJL2O3JWVdE8ggKK7_8/edit?usp=sharing

Balanced Budget Act 1997