Blue state govs. rip Senate health bill

[Danno 1,228]

The Federal Gov not content to sink its own financial boat is stepping up the mandates to sink State Governments as well.

Blue state govs. rip Senate health bill

By: Alex Isenstadt

December 29, 2009 07:08 PM EST

The governors of the nation’s two largest Democratic states are leveling sharp criticism at the Senate health care bill, claiming that it would leave their already financially strapped states even deeper in the hole.

New York Democratic Gov. David Paterson and California GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are urging congressional leaders to rework the Medicaid financing in the Senate-passed bill, warning that under that version their states will be crushed by billions in new costs.

After the Senate passed the bill in a Christmas Eve vote, Paterson said the expansion would leave New York $1 billion in the lurch. The state faces a $6.8 billion budget shortfall heading into the 2010 fiscal year.

“ am deeply troubled that the Senate version of the bill worsens what was already an inequitable situation for New York and I will continue to be an advocate on behalf of New Yorkers to ensure we are treated fairly by this critical federal legislation,” Paterson said in a statement.

In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Schwarzenegger wrote that the legislation would create a “crushing new burden” for a state with a whopping $20.7 billion budget deficit.

“When asked for my support, I was assured that federal legislation would not increase costs to California or include new unfunded mandates,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “Unfortunately, under nearly every scenario we can predict, the federal health care reform legislation being debated would cost California’s General Fund an additional $3 billion to $4 billion annually.”

The resistance from the governors of two Democratic megastates underscores the anxieties facing states as they grapple with the prospect of a massive expansion of the Medicaid program.

The problem is that New York and California, both of which already have expansive Medicaid programs, will pay a higher share of the new expansion costs than many other states that have traditionally limited coverage.

“The inequity built into the bill puts hardship on states and would put them in the position of making cuts to providers,” said Susan Van Meter, vice president of federal relations for the Healthcare Association of New York State.

Schwarzenegger warned that the Senate health care legislation could sink his state.

“As the partner responsible for implementing this program, I am telling you that our Medicaid program is already at the breaking point, and if federal health care reform is passed without addressing the underlying faults in the system, health care reform will fail,” Schwarzenegger wrote in his letter to Pelosi. “f Congress fails to address the existing unfunded mandates and adds yet another layer, federal health care reform could collapse the very safety net system it seeks to expand.”

Both governors’ criticisms are notable because they are distinct from the opposition to the health care bill voiced by many Republican governors. Neither Paterson nor Schwarzenegger has opposed Democratic health care reform efforts in general and both have been largely supportive of President Barack Obama’s domestic agenda.

Schwarzenegger has embraced Obama and singled him out for his “great leadership” in a joint appearance in Los Angeles in March. Obama returned the favor by calling the California governor an “outstanding partner.” And in an interview with CNN as recently as last week, Schwarzenegger said Obama "should get a straight A" for his first year in office "when it comes to effort."

While Paterson’s relationship with Obama has been cool since the White House asked him earlier this year not to pursue a bid for a full term in 2010, he is not philosophically at odds with the administration.

“The bottom line here is money,” Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) told POLITICO on Monday, adding that bill the House passed in November was far more generous to New York. “I think that if a state like mine is doing what it is supposed to be doing we should be praised and not punished.”

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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/31032.html

Edited December 30, 2009 by Danno

[Pooky 3,809]

It would be ironic if Nancy Pelosi's home state collapsed into bankruptcy because of the mess that is the Healthcare Reform Bill.

Or will she intercede and do a Ben Nelson?

[Danno 1,228]

It would be ironic if Nancy Pelosi's home state collapsed into bankruptcy because of the mess that is the Healthcare Reform Bill.

Or will she intercede and do a Ben Nelson?

I think California IS ALREADY "OVER THE EDGE," this bill is just more of the same which brought them to the brink.