Budget shortfalls in at least 15 states have led to severe reductions in funding for services for low-income seniors and those with disabilities, according to a news report.

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) to be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, several news sources confirmed Wednesday.

As the economic crisis continues, the long-term care community is bracing for states to slash Medicaid as one way to reduce steep budget shortfalls this coming year. New York could be one such state.

A $100 billion stimulus package that contains $37.8 billion in additional Medicaid funding could have been defeated almost the moment it was introduced, according to reports from Washington.

A second stimulus package could emerge as a topic in a lame-duck session in the House this week. Any package is expected to include an increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP).

Healthcare and disability advocacy groups have launched a campaign to end the two-year waiting period the disabled must endure before qualifying for Medicare.

The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, both long-term care groups, praised President-elect Barack Obama Monday for promoting an economic-stimulus package that includes needed Medicaid funds for states.

The current U.S. Senate should consider the $61 billion economic stimulus package that the House passed earlier this fall, suggested House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a press conference this week.

Former Sen. Bob Kerrey told a panel of state and federal long-term care policy experts to push Congress to pass a stimulus package before the new Congress convenes.

The nation's governors have appealed to congressional leaders to boost federal Medicaid funding and change tax provisions to help states through the current economic slowdown. In particular, the governors recommended in a letter sent Monday that Congress increase for at least a two-year period a formula that determines matching payments to state Medicaid programs.