Sen. Henry Waxman (D-CA)

House Democrats this week attached a high-profile Medicaid moratorium bill to war-funding legislation in an attempt to ensure the bill’s passage.

The supplemental war appropriations legislation would allocate $183.6 billion to the war effort and to domestic military programs, while imposing conditions on the disbursement of the funds. So far, filibusters from Republicans have kept the Medicaid moratorium bill from moving through the Senate. The Medicaid legislation would delay the implementation of seven unpopular and potentially detrimental Medicaid regulations for one year.

Meanwhile, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has sharply criticized Health and Human Resources Secretary Mike Leavitt for his support of the Medicaid regulations. The regulations include provisions that would curtail Medicaid payments to publicly funded nursing homes and hospitals.