Obama administration unlikely to enact pending Medicaid rules, panel says

As the Senate works to amend the economic stimulus bill, President Obama has indicated that he will go only so far in compromising with Republican critics of the legislation.

“Let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the essential,” Obama said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. Delaying passage of the legislation will only prolong the recession, he said.

Republicans take issue with the bill’s emphasis on spending. They also have been arguing for additional tax cuts and assistance for homeowners. The House passed the bill last week and the Senate feels pressure to pass the bill and send it to the president by the end of next week, in accordance with its timetable.  

The nearly $900 billion measures includes $87 billion in Medicaid funding for states. The American Health Care Association this week praised the Senate bill for this increase in Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding to states. It also favors provisions to ensure prompt payment to long-term care providers, providing funding to states for health information technology (HIT) grants and loans, as well as money to train nurses and other primary healthcare providers, and the one-year delay of the 3% withholding on government contractors.