Democrats keep Medicaid moratorium in war funding bill
In an attempt to appease Republicans, Senate Democrats offered a slimmed down version of the war-funding bill on Tuesday. In doing so, they also managed to hold onto amendments that would block seven Medicaid provisions that providers have balked. The amendments would not take effect until next year.Not surviving negotiations, however, was a Democrat-supported measure that would provide funding to help bring more nurses into the workforce. Although the Senate is expected to vote on the appropriations bill today, Congressional Quarterly reported that it was unlikely Congress would pass the measure before the Memorial Day recess.
The White House issued renewed threats to veto the bill Tuesday, citing its opposition to some domestic spending measures and the moratorium on the seven unpopular Medicaid provisions. The Medicaid provisions would reduce government spending on nursing homes and healthcare training and potentially cost states up to $50 billion, according to some analyses.
