Democrats' $825 billion stimulus would boost Medicaid spending

Washington -- House Democrats on Jan. 15 unveiled an $825 billion economic stimulus bill with funding for health information technology, health coverage subsidies for the unemployed and a temporary increase in federal Medicaid spending to help financially strapped states avoid service cuts.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D, Md.) said the nation needs stimulus spending to stop its downward economic spiral. "Once our economy stabilizes, we must renew our pledge of fiscal responsibility and make the tough choices necessary to rein in deficits and restore balanced budgets," he said.

But House Minority Leader John Boehner (R, Ohio) said now is the time for Congress to practice fiscal responsibility. The plan "appears to be grounded in the flawed notion that we can simply borrow and spend our way back to prosperity," Boehner said.

The American Medical Association is pleased the measure addresses the health care needs of the poor and recently unemployed, said AMA Board of Trustees Chair Joseph M. Heyman, MD. "Reinforcing the safety net by providing more support for the Medicaid program will ensure access to health care for one of our most vulnerable populations."

The package also would support physicians who participate in the National Health Service Corps. The stimulus package "recognizes the integral role that primary care physicians and their colleagues play in ensuring patient access to high quality patient care," said Ted Epperly, MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Most of the funding in the measure, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill, would go toward tax cuts or to build or improve roads, bridges, school buildings and other infrastructure. But many bill provisions also would address health care, including:

• An extension of a moratorium on six Medicaid cost-cutting rules until Oct. 1. The moratorium will expire on April 1 without congressional action.
• $87 billion to provide a 4.8% increase in the federal contribution to state Medicaid programs through Sept. 30, 2010.
• $30.3 billion to help certain unemployed people maintain their health coverage.
• $20 billion for health IT promotion.
• $8.6 billion to provide short-term Medicaid coverage options for certain involuntarily unemployed people.
• $4.1 billion for research into the comparative effectiveness of health care treatments.
• $3.75 billion for new Dept. of Defense hospitals and ambulatory care centers and $455 million in renovations to improve health care in military facilities.
• $3.5 billion to the National Institutes of Health for research grants and improvements.
• $3 billion for state and local health departments to fight chronic disease, for hospitals to prevent infections and for immunization programs.
• $1 billion to renovate health centers and $500 million to help them increase their capacity to treat patients.
• $600 million to train physicians who agree to practice in underserved communities through the National Health Service Corps.