The president this week is expected to veto a $124.2 billion military spending bill that also includes two key measures affecting nursing homes and their residents.

The bill, which the House and Senate passed last week, delays for one year the imposition of a federal rule that would reduce Medicaid reimbursements to county and state nursing home providers. The rule also would limit states’ use of intergovernmental transfers, which allow them to draw matching Medicaid dollars.

Also under the appropriations bill, Wisconsin’s SeniorCare, a prescription drug program for low-income seniors, would be allowed to operate until Dec. 31, 2009. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has recently decided to terminate funding for the program at the end of the year.

President Bush plans to veto the bill because it contains a timeline for withdrawal of troops from Iraq, according to the White House spokesperson. If he vetoes the bill, the House said it would try to override the veto.