Fate of Economic Stimulus Package ‘Up in the Air,’ CQ’s Goldreich Says

Whether Congress will pass an economic stimulus package that helps the unemployed purchase health insurance is "up in the air" and depends on whether "Democrats and Republicans are willing to blame each other for not helping [unemployed] people ... as we head into an election year that will decide control of Congress," Congressional Quarterly senior reporter Samuel Goldreich says in this week's "Congressional Quarterly Audio Report." Goldreich says that Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill on Nov. 25 "accused" the Democrat-controlled Senate of "dithering" on the bill, while Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) "basically dared" President Bush to not approve the package before Christmas. Bush has rejected a Democratic plan that would spend $12 billion on health care, including $6 billion for Medicaid programs, Goldreich says. In addition, Bush has rejected a Democratic $15 billion homeland security package, which Daschle is pushing lawmakers to consider this week. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) has "refused" to enter into debate if there is a possibility that the bill would go beyond a $40 billion spending limit Bush has set. In this week's report, Goldreich also discusses new Medicaid regulations and cloning of human embryos.

Medicaid
Goldreich says that two new payment rules "have hospitals and governors worried" -- the closing of the Medicaid loophole and a plan to replace a temporary system that compensates hospitals for new technology. Goldreich says there is a "good chance" that Congress will thwart the Bush administration's efforts to close the loophole, under which states pay city- or county-owned care facilities more than the actual costs of health services, receive additional matching funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and then require the facilities to return the extra state funds. The states sometimes pay the facilities a small fee for participating and use the extra federal funds for both health and non-health programs. Goldreich says, "Everybody hates the system, but they defend their home states' use of it to support Medicaid."

Human Cloning
Goldreich says that the success of Advanced Cell Technology in cloning a human embryo is "exactly the sort of thing the House wanted to stop when it passed a ban on human cloning earlier this year." The Senate also introduced a similar bill, which Goldreich says he expects the chamber to approve. But he adds, "It might be too late for Congress to act this year as it tries to wrap up the appropriations bills in time to adjourn for Christmas." Goldreich's full report can be heard online (Goldreich, "Congressional Quarterly Audio Report," 11/26).