House Expected To Pass Medicaid Bill; Sen. Baucus Says Chamber Will Soon Consider Measure

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 24 Apr 2008 - 5:00 PST

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The House on Wednesday is expected to pass a bill (HR 5613) aimed at blocking seven new Medicaid regulations for one year with enough votes to override an expected presidential veto, CQ Today reports. The vote had been scheduled for Tuesday, but House leaders decided to postpone the vote to allow members who were campaigning in the Pennsylvania presidential primary to vote on the measure. According to CQ Today, the White House "upped the rhetoric" about the bill Tuesday by issuing a statement that said President Bush's advisers would recommend he veto it. The measure "would put billions of dollars of federal funds at risk and would turn back progress that has already been made to stop abusive state practices," the statement said (Armstrong, CQ Today, 4/22).

The bill seeks to delay Medicaid regulations that 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; reduce federal Medicaid reimbursement for students at teaching hospitals; and limit taxes some states charge health providers. Supporters of HR 5613 have said that the new regulations would unfairly take away Medicaid funds from states and that there is little justifiable basis for the Bush administration to implement them (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/22).

The Senate is expected to take up the measure soon, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said. Baucus said the measure has "lots of momentum," and he predicted that it would pass by a veto-proof margin in the Senate because many Republicans "want those regulations repealed." However, some Senate Republican leaders are expected to vote against the measure, and the chamber is "gearing up for a fight," CongressDaily reports. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has criticized the measure, saying it would allow states to continue misusing Medicaid funds. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) oppose the measure, while more moderate Republicans, such as Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), support the measure (Johnson, CongressDaily, 4/23). According to CQ Today, the legislation's success in the Senate could depend on not adding provisions to the legislation that could cause some Republicans to withdrawal their support (CQ Today, 4/22).

The conservative group Club for Growth on Tuesday said the bill would prevent the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services "from implementing rules that would cut down on fraud and abuse." Several organizations -- including AARP, the March of Dimes and the American Association for Home Care -- support the measure (CongressDaily, 4/23).

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