Congress Passes Budget With Cuts in Medicaid and in Taxes

[Neil D]

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

WASHINGTON, April 28 - The House and Senate broke a lengthy impasse over federal spending Thursday night, narrowly adopting a $2.56 trillion federal budget for 2006 that aims to trim the growth of Medicaid by $10 billion over five years, add $106 billion in tax cuts and clear the way for oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge.

The back-to-back votes - 214 to 211 in the House and 52 to 47 in the Senate - ran mostly along party lines. As the roll was called in the Senate, shortly before midnight, Vice President Dick Cheney sat in the chamber, ready to cast his vote to break a tie, if necessary.

The passage came just hours after House and Senate negotiators reached a budget deal, resolving differences that revolved largely around Medicaid, the government insurance program for the poor. The budget resolution instructs lawmakers to freeze spending in most domestic programs, but not for the military and for domestic security.

Congress has failed to adopt a budget for two of the last three years, and Republican leaders hailed the votes as a victory. With the federal deficit at a record level, President Bush and Congressional Republicans - prodded by fiscal conservatives in their party - have promised to rein in government spending. Adopting a budget was a test of their ability to make good on that vow.

At his news conference Thursday night, moments after the House passed the budget but before the Senate voted, Mr. Bush cited the resolution as an example of his ability to get things done on Capitol Hill.

"There's the budget agreement," the president said, "and I'm grateful for that. It shows we are making progress."

Earlier in the evening, Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the House majority leader, called the spending plan " the best since the historic Balanced Budget Act of 1997."

Shortly before the House began its vote, Mr. DeLay said, "This is the budget the American people voted for when they returned a Republican House, a Republican Senate and a Republican president to the White House last November."

Democrats derided the budget as misguided, saying it would slash spending on programs for the most vulnerable members of society, give lavish tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, force veterans to spend more on health care and deepen the deficit, instead of reducing it, as Republicans contend it will.

The House Democratic leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, called it "a missed opportunity" and "an assault on our values." Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota, the senior Democrat on the Senate Budget committee, called it "a mistake for the country."

Although the budget resolution is nonbinding, it is important because it provides an economic blueprint that lawmakers can use to pass specific tax and spending legislation later in the year. For instance, the resolution assumes $106 billion in tax cuts over the next five years, and explicitly directs Congress to enact legislation providing for $70 billion of those cuts. The intent, its authors say, is to extend Mr. Bush's tax cuts on capital gains and dividend income.

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[Dr. Shane]

Isn't great to see democracy in action!!! How can someone live here and not love this country? I am glad to be an American and at the risk of offending someone let me say, God bless America.

[K]

Do we understand what just happened???Hospitals get reimbursed for treating patients by Medicaid. Do you know that Medicaid already is low paying to hospitals. All this means is that hospitals have to eat the costs, but guess what, hospitals don't eat the costs. They pass them along to you and me. It sounds really great, but he consequences are grave.

K

[Dr. Shane]

Not to worry, it is the growth of the program that is being cut. It is not actually a cut, it is only slowing down the growth of the program.

This was the result of a compromise. It is a result of the seperation of powers. It is democracy at work. Rejoice and be glad. This is the day the Lord has made.

[K]

Aren't your costs rising in your business. In health care costs escalate very quickly because we as Americans want the best health care for nominal prices. Just because you are on Medicaid doesn't mean you get substandard services, it just means that the cost have to be divided out to the paying customers. Even though the growth has been curbed it still means minimal reimbursements to health care providers for top notch treatment.

K

[Neil D]

Quote:

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Not to worry, it is the growth of the program that is being cut. It is not actually a cut, it is only slowing down the growth of the program.

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Got news for you, Shane....What you have read is a reduction, or at the very least, a recommendation, that the number of infirmed will grow larger and the amount of money necessary to take care of them will be less...

Just hope you don't get into a car accident iin a lonely county. That tube that would save your life, or that therapist who you needed to insert the tube may not be there due to those very same resulting cuts in medicare spending.

If that is what you are looking for, Shane....God bless America....

However, if that is NOT what you are looking for, then maybe you need to

[Dr. Shane]

Sister K, we have serious problems with our healthcare industry, its rising costs and insurance providers. That is a seperate issue. We cannot look to medicaid to save the system. That will never happen.

This budget curbed growth in a lot of programs. The Bush-haters are trying to make hay with the Medicaid program because our elderly seem to get scared the easiest. They are trying to use fear tactics to scare our parents and grandparents. Don't buy into it. Don't let them spin you. If, for some reason, there are problems for the elderly in getting healthcare, the budget can always be increased. This isn't something that was handed down from a mountain by God.

Bare in mind, we have a large defecit and the growth in many programs were cut or slowed down. This was done through a democratic process by elected leaders and after much debate. We don't have a king that makes law without the consent of others. Sleep well and trust in God.

[Neil D]

Quote:

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Sister K, we have serious problems with our healthcare industry, its rising costs and insurance providers. That is a seperate issue. We cannot look to medicaid to save the system. That will never happen.

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Ok, I will grant that the healthcare industry is expensive. But the rising costs of insurance is the insurance industies problem, not a health problem. And Medicaid was never intended to "save a system", because it is a system itself. It is the system that is used to pay indigent/uninsured people. It is payment for recovery of *some* care that hospitals would normally *have to give away* for free. That system is for just them, not older folks, who get medicare. That system pays a reduced amount that is set by the goverment which sets those values upon the economics of various geographic areas. Two different systems, Shane, and two different reimbursemts. And while hospital budgets are set upon the reimbursements of medicare, it's profits are obtained from insurance money and the prices set by the hospital to make a profit from various surguries and births and the like. Of course, there are departments who don't make money, ie the NICU department, or the Emergency department. Too many lost charges that get lost in the fray during critical times, which are many a day.

Hospitals are in favor of an economy that allows more insurances to be used instead of medicare or medicaid. Georgie porgie's economy is loosing steam and is gonna crump during his 2nd term, due to high gas prices and due to his finanical policys. The result is that the little guy, like you and me, are gonna feel it and probably pay for it, for years to come.

[Dr. Shane]

Alan Greenspan has been warning us that we must get the federal defefit under control. This budget is a step in that direction. We can't have it both ways. We can't reduce the defecit and have all our precious programs.

[Neil D]

Well, let's turn off the $164 billion tax dollars to Iraq and Afgahnistan...That ought to help out very well with the budget....

[Dr. Shane]

That would be very short sighted. First off, we have taken the war on terror to the terrorist instead of fighting it here at home. Most of us like that. In fact the latest polls show the only area where the public favors Bush's job is in the war on terror.

Secondly, we have already made a commitment to these countries and have to fulfill it. If we just pull out the terrorists will take over and these countries will return to being the safe haven for terrorists that they once were.

Raising taxes is a favorable option but that is not wise until the economy proves to be stable. Raising taxes during a shaky economy is likely to stunt economic growth and thus revenues may actually fall due to less economic activity.

Gas prices are hurting the economy and there really isn't a lot the government can do in the short term that will affect the price of gas. The increase in the price of gas is affecting the economy in the same way that a tax increase would.