Monday, April 25, 2005

U.S. Governors Consider Medicaid Reform Newsday story - "The nation's governors, weighing what to tell Congress they want from Medicaid reform, may take aim at the common practice of seniors giving away their assets so the government pays for nursing home care. They could also demand that the poor pay a share -- or a greater share -- of their health care bills. Those proposals, along with more consumer-friendly recommendations like tax credits for long-term care insurance, are being circulated among the governors in a 12-page document -- a working draft of a statement that could be taken to Congress and the Bush administration. The idea is that the governors would have a united position in the debate over how to rein in soaring costs of the state-federal health care program for the poor. Governors have not yet agreed on the recommendations and it's unclear yet whether a majority will, according to interviews with governors, state Medicaid officials, aides and health care professionals who have been involved or apprised of the discussions and seen the draft document."