Democratic congressional leaders and governors are at odds over the House’s proposed Medicaid cuts. While many congressmen oppose the drastic cuts, many governors support them.

The House earlier this month approved a budget bill that would reduce Medicaid spending by $12 billion through 2010 and by $48 billion over the next decade. Restricting the amount of asset transfers seniors use to receive long-term care Medicaid benefits is one way the House proposes to save money.

Democrats in Washington charge that the bill will hurt the nation’s poor who need health insurance. But many Democrat governors support the cuts, in part because many of them helped craft the cuts.

A bipartisan task force of governors worked with the House last summer proposing Medicaid cuts. This group included:  Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tom Vilsack (D-IA), Haley Barbour (R-MS), Janet Napolitano (D-AZ), Mike Huckabee (R-AR) and Jennifer M. Granholm (D-MI).