House Committee Passes Measure Blocking New Medicaid Rules; Bush Administration Threatens Veto

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 18 Apr 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved a measure (HR 5613) aimed at blocking seven new Medicaid regulations for one year, despite a veto threat from the Bush administration, CQ Today reports. The committee's health subcommittee approved the measure last week after approving an amendment that aims to ensure that only the seven new regulations would be blocked and that the bill would not apply to any future regulations (Armstrong, CQ Today, 4/16).

The Medicaid regulations could reduce health care coverage for pregnant women, low-income children, nursing home residents and other groups. The seven rule changes at issue aim to restrict services covered by some states' case management plans; limit Medicaid reimbursement to public hospitals; narrow federal Medicaid reimbursement eligibility for outpatient hospital services; bar federal reimbursement for transportation to school and school-based care for Medicaid-eligible children; restrict the types of "rehabilitative" services covered by federal funding; cut federal Medicaid reimbursement for students at teaching hospitals; and limit taxes some states charge health providers (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/10).

The committee rejected several amendments before approving the measure, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 4/17). Several of the regulations are scheduled to go into effect May 25, CQ Today reports (CQ Today, 4/16).

Veto Threat, Outlook

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt in a letter to lawmakers on Wednesday said President Bush's advisers will recommend that he veto the measure. Leavitt said 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" (Freking, AP/Google.com, 4/16). Leavitt in the letter added that an amendment to the measure that would provide $25 million annually to HHS to combat Medicaid fraud and abuse does not change the need for the new regulations (Blum, Bloomberg, 4/16).

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the ranking member on the Energy and Commerce Committee, said he does not think the veto threat is "appropriate," adding that he does not think a veto would be successful because the "votes simply aren't there" for it to be sustained. According to CQ Today, it is unclear whether enough Senate Republicans will vote to sustain a veto to keep the measure from becoming law.

Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), sponsor of the measure and chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, would not predict the bill's outcome in the Senate but added that he hopes Bush "will take a look at the vote we're going to get on this matter and decide maybe a veto is unwise" (CQ Today, 4/16). Dingell added, "There is a good reason this bill has received broad, bipartisan, unanimous support" (CongressDaily, 4/17).

New York Joins Several States in Suit Over Regulations

In related news, New York Gov. David Paterson (D) on Wednesday announced the state will join several other states that have filed a lawsuit against the federal government seeking to block the new Medicaid rules, the AP/Staten Island Advance reports. Paterson said the rules would hinder the state's ability to provide case management to vulnerable populations.

The lawsuit was filed several weeks ago in federal court in Washington, D.C., by Maine, Maryland, New Jersey and Oklahoma. Kentucky and Tennessee also have joined the suit, according to the AP/Advance (AP/Staten Island Advance, 4/16).

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