White House Threatens To Veto Legislation That Would Delay Implementation Of New Medicaid Rule Changes

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 17 Apr 2008 - 11:00 PDT

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HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Tuesday in a letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee members said that senior White House advisers will urge President Bush to veto legislation (HR 5613) that would delay implementation of seven new Medicaid regulations for one year, CQ Today reports (Wayne, CQ Today, 4/15).

Under the regulations, states would not be able to use federal Medicaid funds to help pay for physician training. The regulations also would place new limits on Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and nursing homes operated by state and local governments and limit coverage of rehabilitation services for individuals with disabilities and mental illnesses (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 4/10). Last week, the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health approved the bill by voice vote after adding language clarifying that the administration would not be prohibited from issuing other Medicaid regulations. Lawmakers also approved language that would provide $25 million annually for anti-fraud efforts and language that would direct the HHS secretary to contract with an independent group to study the issues that the regulations sought to address.

In the letter, Leavitt said that the new provisions proposed by the subcommittee "were merely cosmetic and do not alter our substantive opposition to the bill." He added that the measure "puts billions of dollars of federal funds at risk and may turn back progress that has already been made to stop abusive state practices."

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the seven Medicaid regulations would result in savings of about $17.8 billion over a five-year period, while the bill to delay the regulations would cost $1.65 billion over two years, CQ Today reports. The Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to mark up the bill today (CQ Today, 4/15).

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