Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Governors and Officials Step Up Talks on Medicaid New York Times story - "Governors and the Bush administration agreed on Tuesday to intensify negotiations on ways to clamp down on Medicaid costs after four days of talks sputtered to an inconclusive end. Michael O. Leavitt, the secretary of health and human services, said he saw 8 to 10 'areas of potential common ground' with the governors. Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat who is chairman of the National Governors Association, said, 'We have a growing consensus on some principles,' but no agreement on details. The sentiment of most governors is, 'Let's plunge ahead' with further negotiations, he said." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].