White House opens door to money talks with financially strapped states
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Facing criticism about how healthcare overhaul will hurt already financially strapped states, the White House today left the door open for working with state leaders to deal with their problems.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been leading the charge to get more federal funds for his state, hoping to fill a $19.9-billion hole. The governor argues that California should get $6.9 billion from the federal government.
Especially galling is that Nebraska will receive additional Medicaid funding as part of the healthcare overhaul bill now being negotiated by the House, Senate and the White House. That added aid was part of the political wrangling to get the support of Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.).
“We also will inspire and push extra hard the California congressional delegation, the bipartisan delegation, because they’re not . . . representing us really well in this case,” Schwarzenegger said in a television interview broadcast over the weekend. “If you think about that, the Senate just voted for a healthcare bill that is saying basically that California should pay for Nebraska, so that Nebraska never has to pay any extra money.’
Asked today if the White House supported giving the rest of the states the same deal that Nebraska got, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the administration was willing to talk.
“I would say this, that the president obviously understands greatly the fiscal situation the governors find themselves in,” Gibbs said. “I think a pretty good understanding of how the president feels is a big chunk of the Recovery Act was for [Federal Medical Assistance Percentage] Medicaid funding to go to help states out of their fiscal situation. And the president wants to work with governors in understanding in tough economic times and in tough budget times taking on new challenges. So we’re going to continue to work with governors.”
“So [Obama] would be open to the idea?” reporters pressed. “I think that’s certainly part of the discussion,” Gibbs replied.
-- Michael Muskal
