President Bush adds his own brother to Medicaid Commission
From The Hill:
The Bush administration has shattered theNational Governors Association’s (NGA’s) unified front in the ongoingdebate about the future of Medicaid by successfully courting twogovernors to participate on a controversial panel.
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D)have agreed to sit on the Department of Health and Human Services’(HHS) Medicaid Commission, which wraps up a two-day meeting today. HHSannounced the new panel members Tuesday.
The NGA had rejected offers to participate in the process despitethe administration’s holding open two seats on the panel. The governorsinstead have worked independently to develop recommendations to theWhite House and Congress about how to reform Medicaid, which has becomea major drag on state budgets. HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt assembled thepanel after Congress authorized it in the fiscal year 2006 budgetresolution.
The defection of two governors from this formerly unanimous positioncould lend an air of credibility to the Medicaid Commission, which hadbeen shunned not only by the governors but also by Congress.