Posted on 05/26/2005 2:32:34 PM PDT by ambrose
Dems Won't Take Part in Medicaid Panel
By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 26, 2:27 PM ET
Democratic lawmakers said Thursday that they would not participate on a commission that will recommend how to trim Medicaid by $10 billion over the next five years.
Michael Leavitt, the secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, announced last week the framework of the commission, which was mandated by Congress. He will appoint up to 15 voting members and 15 non-voting members.
Republican lawmakers were invited to designate four lawmakers to serve as non-voting members, and Democrats were invited to do the same.
Sen. Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record), the Democratic leader in the Senate, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), the Democratic leader in the House, said that they would not accept an advisory role for lawmakers rather than a voting role.
"Unfortunately, the partisan nature of the commission and the lack of voting rights are not our only reasons for refusing to appoint members," the two lawmakers said in a prepared statement. "We fundamentally disagree with the premise that this commission should make recommendations on how to cut Medicaid outlays by $10 billion by Sept. 1."
The senior Democrats on the congressional committees overseeing Medicaid also declined to participate.
Press aides for Leavitt did not have an immediate response.
Last month, Congress narrowly passed a budget blueprint that included a $10 billion reduction in Medicaid. The changes wouldn't begin until 2007, giving the specially convened commission and the nation's governors time to recommend cost-saving proposals.
Medicaid, funded by both the federal government and the states, provides health care for more than 52 million low-income people. It is the nation's largest health care program, and makes up about 17 percent of all state funding.
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The party of obstruction.
If we can't make the rule we won't play. WAH WAH
What a bunch of Voinoviches.
So, like the Sunnis in Iraq, will they resort to blowing things up and managing to make everyone hate them even more, before they demand to be included?
Hopefully Reid and Pelosi won't get the al qaeda manual on creating IED's or the streets of D.C. would no longer be safe to drive. Sounds like they are about as willing to work with us as Muqtad Al Sadr was. But I think we backed him into a mosque and then bombed it if I'm not mistaken.
This way they can whine to the public that they were never "consulted" on this matter-- so how can they possibly consent?
"Democratic lawmakers said Thursday that they would not participate on a commission that will recommend how to trim Medicaid by $10 billion over the next five years"
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This is great news! For real reform raise that to $50 billion.
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