WASHINGTON, Oct 5, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Cash-strapped U.S. governors are
moving to curtail a vast expansion of state Medicaid programs included in
several healthcare reform measures, analysts say.
They have already succeeded in altering the Senate Finance healthcare bill,
which now includes billions of dollars in additional funding after governors
objected to the original, smaller proposal, The Washington Post reported.
States already facing severe budget deficits would see up to 11 million
low-income residents signing up for Medicaid under the new rules, the
Congressional Budget Office estimates, many of whom would be single adults and
parents long without insurance, the newspaper said.
"States are already at a breaking point, and so they should be thankful that
this bill is only going to cost them an additional $30 billion," Sen. Charles
Grassley, R-Iowa, told Finance Committee colleagues. But, he added, "We are
deluding ourselves, though, if we think that we are going to do anything in this
bill to make Medicaid a better program for the people it serves."
Even so, the Post said many healthcare experts still view Medicaid as the most
practical way to insure the poorest Americans, who account for about half of the
uninsured population.
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2009 by United Press International