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National Governors Meeting
Governors Unite Behind Medicaid Reforms
Hope to budge polarized, paralyzed federal government
By
Kathleen Hunter,
Stateline.org Staff Writer
 July 19, 2005 - The nation's governors presented a
staunchly bipartisan front here over the weekend, repeatedly painting a
sharp contrast between their collaborative efforts and what Arkansas
Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) termed the "polarized and paralyzed" federal
government in Washington.
Nowhere was this mantra more common than on the
issue of Medicaid. The governors hope that by staying on message they
can lend legs to a proposal before Congress to dramatically overhaul the
state-federal program that funds health care for 53 million poor and
disabled Americans. Without reform, governors say the program -- which
recently eclipsed elementary and secondary education as the largest
single portion of state budgets -- will collapse under its own weight.
On Sunday (July 17), the roughly 30 governors who
traveled to Iowa for the
National Governors Association's annual meeting urged a key member
of Congress -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley
(R-Iowa) -- to adopt a package of reform proposals governors unveiled in
June that include giving states more flexibility to choose which
benefits to offer and allowing states to charge higher co-payments for
services such as emergency room visits.
"Governors are very concerned and committed to work
on how we can reform the Medicaid system to both deliver these essential
medical services to our citizens but at the same time not bankrupt state
budgets. The proposal that has been presented a couple of weeks ago in
Congress is pretty unique because 50 governors signed on to the seven or
eight ideas, and that's not an easy step in the process. We're hopeful
that, at a minimum, Congress will see this as a great place to start the
discussion," said Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D).
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Grassley told Stateline.org that he planned to work
with governors and that their bipartisan approach has helped ease
polarization and create a sense of bipartisanship in Congress on the
issue of Medicaid reform.
"We wouldn't get a bipartisan approach in Congress
without having a bipartisan group of governors," Grassley said.
Governors emphasized that Medicaid reform should be
driven by policy rather than by the federal government's bottom line.
Congress' budget blueprint would cut $10 billion from the program over
five years.
Grassley said he and other members of the finance
committee are committed to examining Medicaid through a policy rather
than a budgetary lens, but he also posited that the governors' proposals
would help achieve cost savings. "We think it helps us get a long way
towards the $10 billion we're trying to save," he said.
Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (D), who has chaired the
NGA for the past year, said he was pleased with Grassley's reaction to
the governors' proposals. Warner, who now hands the NGA chairmanship to Huckabee
of Arkansas, said the next step will be for governors to sit down with
members of Congress to nail down details of their reforms.
Matt Salo, who handles health care issues for the
NGA, said he is confident that other issues, such as the confirmation of
a replacement for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court,
will not derail governors' efforts to have their reforms adopted by
Congress this year.
"There are going to be a lot of distractions;
judges are one of them. But Congress has to pass a budget," he said.
On Medicaid and other issues, governors cast
themselves as pragmatists busy doing the people's work in their states
while ideologues in Washington remain mired in philosophical debates
over the issues of the day.
"Congress is going to approach everything
philosophically. ... We need to live with that situation and play the
hand that has been dealt us," Huckabee said.
Governors also urged Grassley to pass legislation that would hold states
harmless for the costs of financing the new Medicare prescription drug
benefit for seniors, which begins next year, Warner said.
High school reform, the strain the war in Iraq has
placed on the National Guard, and concerns about recently passed federal
standard for driver's licenses were other major topics of discussion
among governors.
On Sunday, governors announced that states for the
first time have adopted uniform standards for calculating and reporting
high school graduation rates. Forty-five governors and 12 national
organizations signed on to the compact, which Warner described as the
crowning achievement of his yearlong focus on high school reform. Warner
said the collaboration could spur insight into dropout rates and causes.
States have been faulted for claiming an average graduation rate of 83
percent, far higher than independent measures that estimate that less
than 70 percent of public high school students nationwide graduate in
four years.
During his year as NGA chairman, Huckabee plans to
explore ways that government, employers and the health-care industry can
encourage citizens to adopt healthier lifestyles. Huckabee, 49, recently
embraced a health regimen that he credits with helping him lose more
than 100 pounds. He has written a book titled "Quit Digging Your Grave
With a Knife and Fork," chronicling his weight-loss efforts.
Governors were slated to meet privately with U.S.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Warner said
he expects governors to voice concerns about the "REAL ID" Act, which
for the first time sets federal standards for driver's licenses and aims
to prevent states from providing driver's licenses to illegal
immigrants. The measure effectively requires state motor vehicles
officials to act as immigration officers, Warner said.
Governors also were to meet with Lt. Gen. H.
Stephen Blum, head of the National Guard bureau, and with an official
from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Governors were expected to
urge beefed-up federal benefits for Guard members and to voice concerns
about the impact on their states of lengthy and frequent troop
deployments. Such concerns were the focus of a July 6 speech by
Warner at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
The location of this year's NGA meeting in the
state whose caucuses serve as the opening bell of the presidential
selection process also spurred speculation about which governors might
be using the meeting as a chance to test the political waters for 2008
in the Hawkeye State.
More than half a dozen governors, including Warner
and Huckabee, are considering or have been mentioned as possible
presidential contenders.
On July 15, governors met with Iowa party activists
at private events hosted by the state's political parties. Sebelius,
Warner, and Iowa Gov. Thomas Vilsack attended a fund-raising luncheon
organized by the Iowa Democratic Party. Huckabee, Massachusetts Gov.
Mitt Romney and New York Gov. George Pataki spoke at an event organized
by the Iowa Republican Party and the Republican Governors Association.
Story published on
Stateline.org on July 18, 2005.
Stateline.org is an
independent element of the Pew Research Center and is based in
Washington, DC. In addition to our online news gathering activities, it
periodically publishes printed reference materials that are free for the
asking, including a State of the States report released every January.
They also sponsor professional development conferences and workshops for
the news media, including the annual conference of CapitolBeat, the
Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors. For further information,
email
editor@stateline.org or call 202-419-4470.
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