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Compassionate conservativism my big blonde ass. There's plenty of money in the budget for butchering infidel Iraqis, but none for helping people who have been through hell get medical care? http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?hint=3&DR_ID=32729A scheduled Senate floor discussion on a bipartisan bill that would provide federally funded Medicaid coverage to Hurricane Katrina survivors on Thursday was delayed until Monday, Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said, CongressDaily reports (Rovner/Heil, CongressDaily, 9/23). Grassley and finance committee ranking member Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Sept. 14 introduced the bill, which would have the federal government for five months pay 100% of Medicaid costs for survivors from Louisiana, Mississippi and parts of Alabama who have relocated to other states, with the option of extending the coverage for an additional five months. The federal government also would pay 100% of Medicaid costs through the end of 2006 for all beneficiaries in Louisiana, Mississippi and counties in Alabama that have been designated as disaster areas. Other states would be assured that their federal Medicaid matching rates would not decline next year. Survivors with annual incomes below the federal poverty level would be eligible for the coverage. Pregnant women and children from families with annual incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level also would be eligible for Medicaid. The bill would eliminate any asset tests and would measure income moving forward.
More Bill Details
Further, the bill would establish a fund to help hurricane survivors with private health insurance pay their premiums and change Medicare and Medicaid laws so that survivors do not face penalties for missed application deadlines. In addition, the bill would eliminate copayments and deductibles for hospital services for elderly Medicare beneficiaries displaced by the hurricane. The bill would not delay the launch of the Medicare prescription drug benefit for dual eligibles, as requested by some lawmakers. Dual eligibles' prescription drug coverage will be transitioned from Medicaid to Medicare starting on Jan. 1, 2006, as planned. However, HHS would be required to submit by Oct. 7 a written plan for how it will accomplish the transition for dually eligible beneficiaries in states and counties affected by Hurricane Katrina (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 9/22).
Bill 'Abruptly Delayed'
Grassley and Baucus, who "have been trying to get the bill to the floor all week," were "thwarted by as yet unidentified Republicans who are concerned about the bill's cost," CongressDaily reports. Some also share the Bush administration's concern that expansions of Medicaid coverage to people who are ordinarily ineligible for the program would be difficult to reverse. Baucus, who estimated that the bill would cost about $8.7 billion over five years, said, "This is an emergency. This is not the time for the legislative process as usual." Grassley said, "People want more time to study it. But they'll come back with the same gripe; ... the question is: Do they want to help victims of Katrina or not?" If the bill reaches the Senate floor next week, it could be merged with a package being developed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, CongressDaily reports. The "less contentious" HELP committee package reportedly includes assistance with health insurance premiums for those who lost their jobs because of the hurricane, help for employers, and technical changes to aid community health centers and other clinics treating survivors, according to CongressDaily (CongressDaily, 9/23). |
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