Waxman Raises Concerns Over Medicaid Cuts

[maddezmom]

Waxman Raises Concerns Over Medicaid Cuts
New Bush administration Medicaid regulations could degrade the ability of hospitals to respond to a terrorist attack, the chairman of a House panel said Monday.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman , D-Calif., chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the regulations, which would cut federal funding to public and teaching hospitals, would hurt the emergency rooms and trauma centers that would respond to a “mass casualty event” like a terrorist attack. He said if Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt issued the regulations without considering the impact on terrorism preparedness, “that would be a shocking and inexplicable breach of his responsibilities.”

Waxman’s committee is holding a two-day hearing on the regulations, escalating the battle between congressional Democrats and the administration over the regulations. Leavitt and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will testify Wednesday.

Waxman’s staff surveyed emergency rooms in five cities and found that most of them were badly crowded and unprepared for an influx of hundreds of casualties.

more:http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=cqmidday-000002716934

[Mountainman]

1. People go the the emergency room because they have no insurance.

They also wait until the illness has progressed. Solve the health care crisis and you solve the emergency room crisis.