on $24 billion in extra Medicaid funding
- 06/09/10 05:12 PM ET
The nation’s governors on Wednesday continued to lobby Congress for additional Medicaid dollars, warning that a failure to provide the funds would force thousands of layoffs.
In Kansas, for example, 4,000 teaching jobs would be lost if Congress doesn’t act, Gov. Mark Parkinson (D) told reporters during a phone briefing. In Wisconsin, lawmakers are eying $600 million in cuts over the next two years, said Gov. Jim Doyle (D). And in Pennsylvania, the additional $850 million that officials are banking on “can only be made up for by layoffs,” said Gov. Ed Rendell (D).
“There will be dire consequences if Congress turns its back,” Rendell said.
The additional funding is necessary due to a fundamental flaw in the way Medicaid is funded. During recessions, Medicaid enrollment tends to leap as states are the least able to absorb the extra costs. The flaw, which is not addressed in the new health reform law, has caused the federal government to step in with extra help during recent economic downturns. Under current law, the extra help expires at the end of 2010.
Senate lawmakers are eying an amendment to their tax extenders bill that would provide an additional six months of enhanced federal payments — money designed to see the states through next year’s budget season.
House leaders passed a similar bill last month, but not before clipping out the enhanced Medicaid funding — a $24 billion provision that brought howls from Blue Dog members, a group of Democratic budget hawks who objected to paying the tab with more deficit spending.
Rendell said Wednesday that, at least in Pennsylvania, the pressure on Congress from state officials is paying dividends. The Democrat said he’d met with the state’s five Blue Dogs recently. Three of them, Rendell said without naming names, would likely support the additional funding.
In Kansas, for example, 4,000 teaching jobs would be lost if Congress doesn’t act, Gov. Mark Parkinson (D) told reporters during a phone briefing. In Wisconsin, lawmakers are eying $600 million in cuts over the next two years, said Gov. Jim Doyle (D). And in Pennsylvania, the additional $850 million that officials are banking on “can only be made up for by layoffs,” said Gov. Ed Rendell (D).
“There will be dire consequences if Congress turns its back,” Rendell said.
The additional funding is necessary due to a fundamental flaw in the way Medicaid is funded. During recessions, Medicaid enrollment tends to leap as states are the least able to absorb the extra costs. The flaw, which is not addressed in the new health reform law, has caused the federal government to step in with extra help during recent economic downturns. Under current law, the extra help expires at the end of 2010.
Senate lawmakers are eying an amendment to their tax extenders bill that would provide an additional six months of enhanced federal payments — money designed to see the states through next year’s budget season.
House leaders passed a similar bill last month, but not before clipping out the enhanced Medicaid funding — a $24 billion provision that brought howls from Blue Dog members, a group of Democratic budget hawks who objected to paying the tab with more deficit spending.
Rendell said Wednesday that, at least in Pennsylvania, the pressure on Congress from state officials is paying dividends. The Democrat said he’d met with the state’s five Blue Dogs recently. Three of them, Rendell said without naming names, would likely support the additional funding.
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