Obama administration unlikely to enact pending Medicaid rules, panel says

President Obama on Wednesday signed a $410 billion spending bill that he called “imperfect” but necessary to keep the federal government running.  

The bill, which the Senate approved Tuesday, provides $66.3 billion in discretionary funding for Department of Health and Human Services programs. That funding includes $171 million for Title VIII nursing workforce development programs and $43.5 million for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

The bill was supposed to have been completed last fall, but Democrats did not want to engage in spending fights with Republicans during an election year. As a result, the government has been operating on a stopgap funding bill that was set to expire at midnight Wednesday.

To find out more about federal spending and the workings of Washington, tune into a webinar entitled “Medicare, Medicaid and the year ahead” on March 26 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time during McKnight’s Online Expo.

The expo, which will take place over two days, will also cover issues of technology (“Tech tools that drive quality improvement” on March 25 at 11 a.m. ET), wound care (“Providers are under more pressure” on March 25 at 2 p.m. ET), payment (“MDS 3.0 is coming-are you ready” on March 25 at 3 p.m. ET) and capital (“Sizing up new marketplace realities” on March 26 at 11 a.m. ET). Attendees are eligible to receive a continuing education credit for each session.

Besides webinars, more than 17 online exhibitors will be available to show products and field questions. The expo is free to attend. To sign up, go to www.mcknights.com/expo.