CQ's Carey Discusses Second SCHIP Override Vote, Economic Stimulus Package, Entitlement Spending Task Force
According to Carey, the House fell 15 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush's second SCHIP veto. Bush late last year signed legislation that extends current funding for the program through March 2009, but proponents of an SCHIP expansion say that the lack of additional funding makes it harder for states to provide health coverage to children who need it, Carey says. She adds that Democrats likely will force Republicans to vote on the issue again with the presidential and congressional elections approaching this fall.
Carey also discusses the National Governors Association's call for a temporary increase in federal Medicaid payments to be included in an economic stimulus package being assembled by the Bush administration and Congress. There is no additional Medicaid funding in a stimulus deal reached by the House and the Bush administration. Carey says Senate Finance Committee members discussed including a temporary increase of federal Medicaid in their version of the economic stimulus package, but it is unclear whether Medicaid language will be added to the bill. According to Carey, Medicaid funding could be included if Congress considers a second stimulus package later this year, but prospects for bipartisan action likely will subside as the presidential election nears.
Lastly, Carey discusses Senate lawmakers' plan to push for a vote this year on a proposal to create a task force to address long-term budget problems associated with entitlement spending. The task force would be made up of 14 members of Congress, with eight Democrats, six Republicans and two administration officials, including the secretary of the Treasury. The group would draft proposals, which Congress would have to vote on, for how to handle expected budget pressure from Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid spending, Carey says (Carey, "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ," 1/28).
The complete audio version of "Health on the Hill," transcript and resources for further research are available online at kaisernetwork.org.
Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
CQ's Carey discutã SCHIP de ignorare al doilea vot, economice stimul pachet, dreptul de cheltuire Task Force - CQ's Carey Discusses Second SCHIP Override Vote, Economic Stimulus Package, Entitlement Spending Task Force - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate