Senate panel passes FY05 budget; includes Medicaid reductions, -AND- Governors to Hill: Don't cut Medicaid

CAL/AAEM News Service pottsbri@yahoo.com
Sun, 7 Mar 2004 23:34:14 -0800 (PST)


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AHA NEWS NOW
The Daily Report for Health Care Executives
www.ahanews.com

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Friday, March 5, 2004
 
1) Senate panel passes FY05 budget; includes Medicaid reductions

The Senate Budget Committee last night passed a budget resolution for fiscal
year 2005 that assumes $9.6 billion in Medicaid spending reductions over
five years, as proposed by the president, and caps discretionary spending at
$814 billion, assuming a freeze for most programs at last year's spending
levels. The full Senate is expected to take up the budget resolution next
week. The proposal fully funds the president's homeland security request,
including $476 million for hospital preparedness, and offers no hospital
Medicare cuts, but includes user fees for processing some claims. It also
instructs the Senate Finance Committee to come up with $3 billion in savings
to offset several proposed tax cuts, without saying how that should be
accomplished. In letters this week, AHA and five other organizations
representing the nation's hospitals and health systems said they strongly
opposed any budget provisions that would reduce or cap funding to the
Medicaid program. The House Budget Committee is scheduled to markup its
budget resolution March 10.

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2) Governors to Hill: Don't cut Medicaid

As the Senate Finance Committee eyes billions in proposed Medicaid cuts in
the fiscal year 2005 budget resolution, the National Governors Association
this week called on Congress "to fully fund the federal government's
commitments to this critical program that serves more than 50 million of our
most vulnerable Americans." In a letter to Senate and House Budget Committee
leaders, the NGA opposed the inclusion of any Medicaid cuts in the budget
resolution. "States are currently emerging from the most severe budget
crisis since World War II and nearly every state has already enacted
difficult cuts to its Medicaid program, including both eligibility levels
and provider payments," wrote Iowa Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, NGA chairman, and
Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, vice chairman. "Federal funding reductions would
force states to implement even deeper cuts by restricting eligibility,
eliminating or reducing critical health benefits, and cutting or freezing
provider reimbursement rates. As a result, Medicaid funding cuts could add
millions more to the ranks of the uninsured and would harm our nation's
health care safety net." For more, go to http://www.nga.org.

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Copyright 2004 by the American Hospital Association. All rights reserved.
For republication rights, contact Craig Webb. AHA News is a registered trademark of the American Hospital Association. The opinions expressed in AHA News Now are not necessarily those of the American Hospital Association.
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Brian Potts 
Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service 
MS-IV, UC-Irvine

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<DIV>
<DIV>===================================<BR><BR>AHA NEWS NOW<BR>The Daily Report for Health Care Executives<BR>www.ahanews.com<BR><BR>===================================<BR>Friday, March 5, 2004</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>1) Senate panel passes FY05 budget; includes Medicaid reductions<BR></DIV>
<DIV>The Senate Budget Committee last night passed a budget resolution for fiscal<BR>year 2005 that assumes $9.6 billion in Medicaid spending reductions over<BR>five years, as proposed by the president, and caps discretionary spending at<BR>$814 billion, assuming a freeze for most programs at last year's spending<BR>levels. The full Senate is expected to take up the budget resolution next<BR>week. The proposal fully funds the president's homeland security request,<BR>including $476 million for hospital preparedness, and offers no hospital<BR>Medicare cuts, but includes user fees for processing some claims. It also<BR>instructs the Senate Finance Committee to come up with $3 billion in savings<BR>to offset several proposed tax cuts, without saying how that should be<BR>accomplished. In letters this week, AHA and five other organizations<BR>representing the nation's hospitals and health systems said they strongly<BR>opposed any budget provisions that would reduce or cap fundin!
 g to
 the<BR>Medicaid program. The House Budget Committee is scheduled to markup its<BR>budget resolution March 10.<BR><BR>+++<BR><BR>2) Governors to Hill: Don't cut Medicaid<BR></DIV>
<DIV>As the Senate Finance Committee eyes billions in proposed Medicaid cuts in<BR>the fiscal year 2005 budget resolution, the National Governors Association<BR>this week called on Congress "to fully fund the federal government's<BR>commitments to this critical program that serves more than 50 million of our<BR>most vulnerable Americans." In a letter to Senate and House Budget Committee<BR>leaders, the NGA opposed the inclusion of any Medicaid cuts in the budget<BR>resolution. "States are currently emerging from the most severe budget<BR>crisis since World War II and nearly every state has already enacted<BR>difficult cuts to its Medicaid program, including both eligibility levels<BR>and provider payments," wrote Iowa Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, NGA chairman, and<BR>Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, vice chairman. "Federal funding reductions would<BR>force states to implement even deeper cuts by restricting eligibility,<BR>eliminating or reducing critical health benefits, and cutting or
 freezing<BR>provider reimbursement rates. As a result, Medicaid funding cuts could add<BR>millions more to the ranks of the uninsured and would harm our nation's<BR>health care safety net." For more, go to http://www.nga.org.<BR><BR>+++</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>Copyright 2004 by the American Hospital Association. All rights reserved.<BR>For republication rights, contact Craig Webb. AHA News is a registered trademark of the American Hospital Association. The opinions expressed in AHA News Now are not necessarily those of the American Hospital Association.</DIV>
<DIV>========================</DIV></DIV><BR><BR><STRONG>Brian Potts <BR>Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service</STRONG> <BR>MS-IV, UC-Irvine<p><hr SIZE=1>
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