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Senior Citizen Politics
Medicare Changes in SCHIP Bill Hinder Congressional
Compromise
Governors threaten to sue the administration over SCHIP restrictions
Sept. 13, 2007 Negotiators for the House and
Senate have reached an impasse in trying to reach agreement on the bill
to reauthorize and expand SCHIP. A major hang-up, as pointed out by
KaiserNetwork.org, is the inclusion of a number of substantial changes
in the Medicare program.
House, Senate Unable To Resolve Differences Over
SCHIP Legislation
House and Senate lawmakers on Wednesday were unable
to reach a compromise on legislation to reauthorize and expand SCHIP,
"increasing the likelihood of a short-term extension" of the program,
CQ
Today reports.
According to
CQ Today,
lawmakers were unable to resolve the "two biggest points of contention"
between the two bill versions: "how much to spend on the program and
whether to include provisions on Medicare" (Wayne,
CQ Today,
9/12).
SCHIP legislation approved by the House (HR
3162) would reduce payments to Medicare Advantage plans and
increase the federal cigarette tax by 45 cents per pack to increase
funding for SCHIP by about $50 billion over five years.
Medicare Provisions
The bill also would make a number of revisions to
Medicare. The Senate version (S
1893) would reauthorize SCHIP and increase the federal
cigarette tax by 61 cents per pack to boost funding for the program by
$35 billion over five years. House leaders last week reaffirmed their
commitment to retaining portions of House SCHIP legislation that would
affect Medicare (Kaiser
Daily Health Policy Report, 9/12).
Senators place blame on House Democratic leaders,
who have "refused to concede that their bill cannot pass the Senate,"
according to
CQ Today.
"Basically, the problem rests with the House," Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)
said. House Democrats have said that the Senate bill might not pass
their chamber with a veto-proof majority -- "or at all" -- because of
the higher tobacco tax,
CQ Today
reports. While House aides acknowledged the lack of progress on SCHIP,
they noted that Senate Republicans were responsible for
blocking
a formal conference committee from convening.
A spokesperson for
House Ways and
Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) said, "While
the size, scope and timing of legislation dealing with SCHIP and
Medicare continue to be crafted, there's at least one thing we all know
for certain: Democrats all agree that covering uninsured children and
preserving Medicare are moral obligations and national imperatives."
If the House and Senate cannot reach an agreement
on SCHIP before the program expires on Sept. 30, Congress is expected to
pass a short-term extension to fund the program.
Senate Finance
Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Wednesday said that
negotiations probably will extend to the deadline. "This world's run by
deadlines," Baucus said, adding, "Sometimes you have to be up against a
wall for people to make a decision" (CQ
Today, 9/12).
New Jersey, N.Y. Governors Threatens Lawsuit
Challenging SCHIP Eligibility Rules
In related news, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) on
Wednesday in a letter to President Bush and
HHS
Secretary Mike Leavitt wrote that the state would seek legal action
against the Bush administration to challenge new
rules
designed to limit SCHIP enrollment to the lowest-income children, the
Newark
Star-Ledger reports (Livio, Newark
Star-Ledger, 9/13).
Corzine wrote that although a letter from the Bush
administration outlining the rules "purports to clarify existing
requirements, the simple fact is that it sets forth entirely new and
unreasonable conditions" (Bergen
Record,
9/13).
Corzine wrote, "The practical effect of the new
policy would be that thousands of innocent children will lose or be
denied health insurance coverage and will be forced to join the growing
ranks of the uninsured." He continued, "Please also know that I am
prepared, if necessary, to pursue legal action to further the goal of
protecting our most vulnerable children."
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) also has
threatened
to sue over the new guidelines, and lawmakers are introducing
legislation to block the rules (Newark
Star-Ledger, 9/13).
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