In the latest episode of “What Incompetence Looks Like,” we now bring you the Medicaid Mystery: $400 million vanished into thin air—or more accurately, into the pockets of people who are six feet under. That’s right, folks. The federal government managed to hand out nearly half a billion dollars in Medicaid payments to recipients who are no longer with us. Dead. Departed. Deceased. But apparently still cashing checks from Uncle Sam.

According to a January report from the Department of Health and Human Services, over $408 million in improper Medicaid payments were made in a single year. The real kicker? Nearly all of those payments went to recipients who had already passed away. And as if that weren’t jaw-dropping enough, the government only recovered about half. The rest? Floating out there in the bureaucratic Bermuda Triangle, likely never to return.

Now, if this were a private company misallocating a few hundred million dollars, someone would be out of a job—and possibly in court. But when it’s the federal government, we’re lucky if someone remembers to send an email about it. This kind of fiscal faceplant is what happens when the people running the show treat taxpayer money like it’s Monopoly cash. And let’s be honest, this didn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s the result of years—decades—of Democrats building bloated bureaucracies with more red tape than a Christmas warehouse.

For all the left’s talk about “protecting the most vulnerable,” they sure don’t seem to care who actually gets the money. While real, living Americans are struggling to access healthcare, the Medicaid program is apparently hosting a financial séance, summoning funds from the living to distribute to the dearly departed. If only the government’s verification systems had the same level of rigor as your average TSA pat-down, we might not be hemorrhaging hundreds of millions of dollars to ghosts.

This scandal is just the latest example of why conservatives have been screaming from the rooftops about the need for tighter verification and eligibility controls. But every time someone suggests auditing these programs, Democrats clutch their pearls and start shrieking about “cruelty” and “discrimination.” Meanwhile, their idea of compassion is shoveling money into the grave. Literally.

Let’s not forget which party has spent years fighting any attempt to clean up these programs. During the Obama-Biden years, Medicaid spending ballooned faster than a Chinese spy balloon over Montana. And despite all the red flags, Democrats insisted that any effort to introduce eligibility verification was somehow “heartless.” Apparently, they’d rather be generous with your money—even if it’s going to people who died during the last administration.

This isn’t just waste. It’s a flashing neon sign that says “SYSTEMIC FAILURE” in all caps. And the silence from the usual suspects on the left is deafening. Where’s Elizabeth Warren with her trademark outrage? Where’s Bernie Sanders, the self-appointed guardian of government programs? Probably too busy planning how to give free college to squirrels.

Thankfully, under the Trump administration, the adults are back in the room. It’s time to drain the Medicaid swamp, plug the leaks, and restore some accountability. This should be a wake-up call for every taxpayer who’s tired of watching their hard-earned dollars tossed into the abyss by a government that apparently can’t tell the difference between a living citizen and a cemetery plot.

In any sane world, this would be a bipartisan scandal. But in the Democrat playbook, as long as it’s the government spending your money, it’s all good—even if it’s being spent on people who haven’t drawn a breath in years.