On April 23 the US House of Representatives passed Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008 (HR 5613), legislation delaying seven recent Medicaid regulations for one year, including those affecting case management and the rehabilitative service option. The bill passed by a vote of 349-62 – a margin large enough to defeat a presidential veto. Member efforts in support of HR 5613 made a difference!
Attention now turns to the US Senate, which must pass similar legislation before HR 5613 can be sent to the president. The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare reported today that a group of Senate Republicans have begun circulating a letter urging their colleagues to sign on as being opposed to any attempts to move a similar bill in the Senate. They are hoping to quickly gather enough signatures to show that the Senate, unlike the House, could not override a presidential veto on this legislation.
PCPA urges members to contact Senator Specter and ask him to support Medicaid moratoria legislation by not signing on to this letter. Contact information for Senator Specter is available through http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm. For more information please contact Anne McHugh Leisure at PCPA.
