GOP Governors Seek More State Control Over Medicaid
On Monday, four Republican governors sent a letter to the federal debt-reduction committee asking members to make changes to the Medicaid program and disregard President Obama's recommendations for the program. The governors -- Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, who were representing the Republican Governors Association -- said that Obama's proposal to combine various rates of federal Medicaid funding into a single, blended rate would shift costs to the states. They recommended that the debt panel design deficit-reduction proposals around strategies that give states more control over their Medicaid programs.
- "GOP Governors Oppose Obama Plan To Cut Medicaid Spending" (Baker, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 10/24).
- "Republican Governors Submit Recommendations to Debt 'Supercommittee'" (Sonmez, "2chambers," Washington Post, 10/24).