Coalition Calls For State Medicaid Aid In Economic Stimulus Package
The letter continued, "As a condition of receiving the enhanced FMAP, states should be barred from reducing Medicaid eligibility as was the case in 2003," when states received fiscal relief. In addition, the coalition wrote that in the last recession, Medicaid cuts "caused one million families and children to be cut off or denied Medicaid" (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 1/25).
Coalition members include AFL-CIO, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the American Hospital Association, the American Health Care Association, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now and MoveOn.org (CongressDaily, 1/25). Prospects
According to CongressDaily, Bush administration and House leaders are hoping to conclude negotiations on the package this week and send it to the floor for a vote (Cohn/Johnson, CongressDaily, 1/28). The package is "the first of what are likely to be several stimulus plans put forward on Capitol Hill in coming months and the one most likely to become law," as items that do not make it into this package "could be taken up in a longer-term stimulus plan," according to the Christian Science Monitor (Russell Chaddock/Scherer, Christian Science Monitor, 1/28).
The Senate Finance Committee on Friday discussed including Medicaid provisions in its version of the legislation. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) said the committee had "a good discussion" about a temporary increase in federal Medicaid spending but added, "I think there's general support for it, but an unwillingness to scuttle the package over it" (CQ HealthBeat, 1/25). Senate Democrats last week said they would prefer to quickly pass the legislation than to delay it in favor of amendments. The committee will mark up its version of the package this week.
Although "[t]alk has been rampant" about a second bill that would include additional funding for measures not included in the stimulus package, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday "appeared to throw cold water on that idea," according to CongressDaily. She said, "I don't know about any second stimulus plan," despite statements by her office on Thursday that indicated Medicaid funding for states along with other measures could be included in a second bill (CongressDaily, 1/28). NGA
The National Governors Association last week asked lawmakers to include as part of a stimulus package $6 billion for Medicaid and $6 billion for block grants for states, CQ Today reports. NGA executive director Raymond Scheppach said the Senate Finance Committee's mark up "will be our focus in the short run." According to CQ Today, several senators have supported adding state aid to the package, including senior members of the Finance Committee such as Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.). According to an NGA survey, 18 states face budget gaps this year totaling $14 billion, while another 17 states face potential shortfalls totaling $31 billion in fiscal year 2009 (Clarke, CQ Today, 1/25).
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.
Coaliþia pentru apeluri de ajutor de stat Medicaid stimul economic în pachet - Coalition Calls For State Medicaid Aid In Economic Stimulus Package - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate