[NYAPRS Enews] Urgent: Call Your Senator Now to Save Medicaid Match Rate Extension!

[Harvey Rosenthal]

URGENT: Contact Your Senators Now 
Help Save Medicaid Match Rate Extension from Defeat!

 

Background

On Wednesday morning, June 16, the Senate voted against extending higher
federal Medicaid match rates (known as FMAP) through June 2011.
Another effort to pass the extension is expected now at any time. The
action is part of Senate debate on the pending jobs bill, formally known
as the American Jobs, Closing Tax Loopholes and Preventing Outsourcing
Act (HR 4213).
Medicaid provides the base of health and mental health care in America.
Voting against FMAP means pulling the rug out from state budgets-and
expanding further the nation's health and mental health crises. Mental
health care services that have already been devastated by state budget
cuts will be devastated even more. 
Health and mental health cuts end up costing more through lost jobs and
careers, broken families, more homelessness,

higher insurance costs, more welfare and much more expensive costs for
hospital emergency rooms, nursing homes, 

schools, police and courts, jails and prisons. 


Take Action Now
Please call your Senators NOW at 877-210-5351 or 877-442-6801 and urge
them 

"to support funding for the Medicaid FMAP extension."

---------------

 

Senators Plan for Scaled Back Version of 'Extenders' Bill

By Niels Lesniewski, CQ Staff

Senate Democrats on Wednesday could not muster the 60 votes needed to
continue work on a $140 billion version of a broad tax and benefits
extensions bill.

The setback had been widely expected, and Senate leaders are planning to
unveil a new, pared back version of the bill later today in the hopes of
winning more support. 

On Wednesday morning, Senators rejected, 45-52, a Democratic motion to
waive a budgetary point of order raised by Budget Committee ranking
Republican Judd
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S0572)%3cIN%3ememcodes%3cAND%3e(summary)%3cIN%3ememberreports&print=true
&sortSpec=displaydate+desc&productId=5','membercard',680,430);>  Gregg,
R-N.H., against a substitute amendment to the House-passed tax
"extenders" legislation (HR
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11&prod=5','billCard',680,430);>  4213) proposed by Max
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S0510)%3cIN%3ememcodes%3cAND%3e(summary)%3cIN%3ememberreports&print=true
&sortSpec=displaydate+desc&productId=5','membercard',680,430);>  Baucus,
D-Mont., the chairman of the Finance Committee. 

Sixty votes were required to waive the point of order. When the Baucus
substitute did not muster the necessary votes, the point of order was
sustained and the substitute was withdrawn.

Baucus is now expected to unveil a new package, one that is likely to
include scaled back versions of the benefit provisions in the version
that was withdrawn Wednesday morning. The substitute amendment rejected
Wednesday would have increased the deficit by $78.7 billion.

One target for reduction could be a $22.9 billion provision that would
prevent a cut in payments to doctors who currently see
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<Medicare
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patients. Baucus could modify that provision to cover
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<Medicare payments through this year only, rather than through 2011, as
his original substitute would have done. Some senators, including
moderate Olympia
<javascript:simplePopup('/find.do?dataSource=memberchild&queryFragment=(
S0372)%3cIN%3ememcodes%3cAND%3e(summary)%3cIN%3ememberreports&print=true
&sortSpec=displaydate+desc&productId=5','membercard',680,430);>  J.
Snowe, R-Maine, have called for the so-called doc-fix to be offset.

"We'll wait and see what the Baucus revised modified substitute will
be," Snowe said Tuesday.

She had spoken with Baucus Tuesday evening, but had not seen any new
language and therefore, "it is very difficult to say" whether or not she
could support the next offer.

In addition, a $24.2 billion provision to provide additional federal
assistance for states to help them pay costs associated with Medicaid
programs could be whittled down. The version of the measure passed by
the House eliminated the extension of the Federal Medical Assistance
Percentage (FMAP), but Senate Democrats had pledged to restore the
funding.

In recent days, supporters of the FMAP provision have highlighted the
impact on state budgets.

"If we lose the FMAP money we will have to lay off 20,000 people. These
would be teachers, state workers, fireman, policemen and caseworkers,"
Gov. Ed Rendell, D-Pa., said Wednesday.

Under an agreement, an alternative proposal sponsored by Sen. John
<javascript:simplePopup('/find.do?dataSource=memberchild&queryFragment=(
H3682)%3cIN%3ememcodes%3cAND%3e(summary)%3cIN%3ememberreports&print=true
&sortSpec=displaydate+desc&productId=5','membercard',680,430);>  Thune,
R-S.D., that includes a freeze on federal employees' salaries and a 5
percent cut in discretionary spending outside of the Defense and
Veterans Affairs departments is poised to face a similar procedural vote
on Thursday.

Thune's substitute is also likely to fall short of the 60 votes needed
to waive a budget point of order.

Richard Rubin and Emily Ethridge contributed to this story. 

Source: CQ Today Online News 

 





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