http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000003156522HHS Rescinds Bush-Era Medicaid Regulations
By Alex Wayne, CQ Staff
The Health and Human Services Department Monday rescinded three controversial Bush administration regulations governing Medicaid and said it would postpone and possibly change or rescind a fourth.
The regulations were among seven that President George W. Bush ’s administration tried to implement in 2007 and 2008 that sent health care providers, state governments and advocates for the poor into a lobbying frenzy. Critics charged that the administration was trying to shift to the states, from the federal government, the burden for about $19.6 billion in Medicaid spending over five years. Medicaid, a health insurance entitlement program for the poor, is a shared federal-state program, and there is constant tension between the two over costs.
The department’s action was not unexpected. Democrats have been particularly critical of the regulations, and introduced several bills in the 110th Congress to stop them. A series of congressional moratoria delayed implementation of most of the regulations until June 30.
One of the regulations the department rescinded would have narrowed Medicaid payments for what are called “case management services” that some states offer to Medicaid clients. Another would have prohibited Medicaid reimbursement for administrative costs incurred by schools, and for transporting Medicaid-eligible children to school. A third would narrow the definition of “outpatient services” under Medicaid — medical treatment performed outside a hospital or clinic. And the regulation that was postponed would limit taxes that some states assess on health providers to help pay the state portion of Medicaid expenses.
That regulation now cannot take effect before June 30, 2010; Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may “give additional consideration to alternative approaches” in the meantime.
Sebelius said she had ordered the three regulations rescinded because they might have harmed Medicaid beneficiaries.
“These regulations, if left in place, would have potentially adverse consequences for Medicaid beneficiaries, some of our nation’s most vulnerable people,” she said in a statement. “By rescinding these rules, we can expect that children will continue receiving services through their schools, beneficiaries will be able to access all available case management resources to help them better manage their health care, and outpatient hospital and clinic services can continue to be covered in the most efficient manner.”
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
