Despite a veto threat from the White House, the House on April 23 voted 349-62 to block the Bush administration from cutting federal spending on Medicaid by $13 billion over the next five years. The vote approves legislation that would delay implementation of seven new Medicaid regulations that the administration said were needed to curb waste and abuse in Medicaid. The legislation would delay those regulations until April 1, 2009. Under the regulations, states could not use federal Medicaid funds to help pay for physician training. The regulations also would place new limits on Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and nursing homes operated by state and local governments and limit coverage of rehabilitation services for individuals with disabilities and mental illnesses. In addition, the bill would provide $25 million annually for efforts to fight Medicaid fraud, according to The New York Times.
Although the House vote margin was well above the two-thirds needed to override a veto, the legislation must now go to the Senate for a vote.
