(May 12, 2008) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid granted fast-track status to legislation that would extend the moratorium on seven Medicaid regulations until April 1, 2009.
The proposed legislation will bypass the Senate Finance Committee and head straight to the Senate floor for consideration.
Under the Bush Administration-proposed legislation, states could not use federal Medicaid funds to help pay for physician training; it would also limit Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and nursing homes operated by state and local governments and would limit rehabilitation services for individuals with disabilities
and mental illnesses.
The House passed the bill by a more than veto-proof majority of 342-62. Since the vote, the administration has urged senators to vote against the House bill, but has appeared willing to negotiate some of the rules, including the one prohibiting the use of federal Medicaid dollars to fund graduate medical education.
See other Graduate Medical Education information.