Government
Governors write Congress about Medicaid finance, reforms
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 24, 2005
The nation's governors sent a letter to congressional leaders last month calling for Medicaid reforms that would alleviate some of the financial burden facing the states.
The bipartisan chairs of the National Governors Assn. reported that the program is consuming an increasingly larger portion of states' budgets and that reforms that would make Medicaid run more efficiently are needed.
"Reform, however, should not be part of a 2006 fiscal year budget reduction and reconciliation process, especially if it does nothing more than shift additional costs to states," the letter states. Any measure that Congress approves must include a provision to transfer Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibles to Medicare, according to the governors.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/01/24/gvbf0124.htm.
