Vote to save $787 million for Colorado Medicaid
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published April 23, 2008 at 3:14 p.m.
Updated April 24, 2008 at 12:03 a.m.
Congress took the first step Wednesday toward blocking federal regulations that could cut Colorado's Medicaid funding by $787 million over five years.
By a bipartisan 349-62 vote, the U.S. House defied President Bush's veto threat and approved a moratorium on seven obscure regulations that impose new restrictions on federal funding for such things as rehabilitation services, case management and transportation.
Without the moratorium, critics say the regulation changes would cost states a combined $50 billion in federal matching funds over the next five years.
Colorado stands to lose $157.4 million in payments the first year, or $787.2 million over five years, and the spin-off effect on the state's economy could be severe, according to a report this week by Families USA, a non-profit that says it is "dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans."
The Bush administration says the proposed rules will help ensure that Medicaid is paying providers appropriately, that services are effective, and that taxpayers are getting their money's worth.
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., called the rule changes "draconian," and said they would threaten "safety-net" hospitals like Denver Health, which faces an estimated $70 million cut.
"Institutions across the country, including those in Colorado, face the real possibility of closing their doors to people in need," DeGette said in a release. "The House took aggressive action today by passing strong, bipartisan legislation that will stand up to President Bush's veto threat."
The vote was more than the two-thirds margin needed to overcome a veto. The U.S. Senate has yet to take action, but Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said he believes that two-thirds of his colleagues also support a moratorium.
Salazar said if no congressional action is taken, it would result in a $40 million per year hit to the University of Colorado's health system and smaller but equally devastating cuts to medical clinics in places like the San Luis Valley.
"I see these regulations being an assault on the safety net," Salazar told reporters this week.
It was a bipartisan vote overall, with 128 Republicans joining 221 Democrats. But among Colorado lawmakers it was a strict, party-line split.
All four Colorado Democrats (Reps. Diana DeGette, Mark Udall, John Salazar and Ed Perlmutter) supported the moratorium. All three Colorado Republicans (Reps. Marilyn Musgrave, Doug Lamborn and Tom Tancredo) were opposed.
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April 23, 2008
4:27 p.m.
Suggest removal
OhBrother writes:
Oh Brother...I thought it was all due to illegals, right? Aren't they the reason hospitals close doors, the strain they put on healthcare is way more then what president Bush has purposed...this report MUST be wrong
April 23, 2008
8:14 p.m.
Suggest removal
infidel91 writes:
I fail to see how illegal immigrants who don't pay their own medical bills raise the cost of health care any more than citizens or legal immigrants who don't pay their own medical bills . . .
April 23, 2008
9:41 p.m.
Suggest removal
redwhiteandBLUE writes:
Illegal aliens aren't supposed to be here raising costs of any kind, it's NOT their country.
April 24, 2008
7:40 a.m.
Suggest removal
vudumom writes:
Citizens and legal immigrants who are poor and qualify for Medicaid are covered by the safety net.
Citizens and legal immigrants who have worked all their lives to have a home a good living and sometimes have a unforseen devastating illness and or not insured or insured enough will have to pay their bills.The hospitals will come after them and take everything they own to pay their bill. Why?, because that's what the hospitals do. Surely you've seen families in the press holding fundraisers for operations and medical procedure that will take everything a family has so their child can live.
Now here is the difference.
An illegal alien can walk into any hospital and get any service for free. They already have fake i.d cards so no one knows who they really are. They can walk in and have a child. When they walk out since they are for the most part transient or can become transient they do not pay the bills. The hospital cannot find them. They usually don't have roots deep enough that they have anything the hospital can go after like regular citizens and legal citizens that have worked and built their lives up. The hospitals will be calling your home within a week demanding payment for their services even if you have insurance and owe just the co-pay and % of the bill.They will call you everyday until they get paid. They will also send you a bill everyweek.If you don't pay they send it to collections and they will take you to court to garnish your wages and put leins on your home.
That's the difference.
Illegals just walk away and the hospital writes it off and raises prices for the insured and anyone else they can squeeze some of that lost money from.
April 24, 2008
9:32 a.m.
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coloradoorbust writes:
All the more reason to DEPORT, DEPORT, DEPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dont care if they built my house, they did a sh*ty job anyway.
April 24, 2008
3:51 p.m.
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Ztliano writes:
Free Healthcare for all. Including Illegals (no questions asked about immigration)! TRIPLE MY HOUSING TAX IF NEED BE!!!!!!!! No I'm not Mexican. Just a socialist. lol. Do we want an outbreak of a infectious air-borne disease, cuz of someone who is afraid to go to the hospital, cuz they'd be deported?????? Let the army set up check points to hunt out Illegals. I'm kool with that. ARMY checkpoints everywhere. :)