HHS Secretary Sets May 15
Deadline for NGA Task Force
April 4, 2003 - While Health and Human Services Secretary
Tommy Thompson welcomed the recent creation of a bipartisan
"Medicaid Reform Task Force" by the National Governors
Association (NGA), he advised the Task Force on March 28 to
act quickly because the Administration intended to have the
Medicaid Reform issue resolved by May 15.
The NGA created the Task Force at the Feb. 25 conclusion
of their 2003 Winter Meeting, during which they voted not
to endorse the Medicaid reforms outlined in the President's
FY 2004 budget proposal. Believing that the Bush reforms did
not provide enough state flexibility or funding, the NGA adopted
its own set of reform principles and created a bipartisan
Task Force to advocate for those principles. Among the NGA
principles is a call for full federal responsibility of acute,
primary, long-term, and pharmaceutical care for dual eligibles.
The principles also include the elimination of the waiver
process and 100 percent federal funding of new federal Medicaid
mandates.
According to an NGA press release, the Task Force plans to
meet weekly via conference call. They will also visit Washington
to advise the President and Congress. Governors Paul Patton
(D-Ky.) and Dirk Kempthorne (R-Idaho) co-chair the Task Force,
which also includes Govs. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.), Robert Ehrlich
(R-Md.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Bob Holden (D-Mo.), Frank O'Bannon
(D-Ind.), Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), John Rowland (R-Conn.)
and Tom Vilsak (D-Iowa).
Information:
Christiane Mitchell, Senior Legislative Affairs Manager
AAMC Government Relations
cmitchell@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
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