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Frontier Senators Work to Save Rural Health Programs and Medicaid

Every year the US House and Senate pass non-binding budget resolutions to determine their spending targets for the year. This is done after and in response to the President's proposed budget, which is submitted to Congress every February.

This year, the President recommended major cuts and even total elimination of many critical rural health programs as well as drastic changes to Medicaid. This year it was frontier state Senators who saved the day when the Senate FY 2006 budget resolution passed on March 17, 2005.

Two bipartisan amendments, one restoring funds for rural health care and the other delaying cuts in Medicaid were successfully included in the budget resolution.

Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) introduced an amendment blocking $15 billion in proposed funding cuts for Medicaid and instead called for establishing a bipartisan commission to review the Medicaid program. The Commission will then issue recommendations for reform that will strengthen the program and improve its cost effectiveness while maintaining its commitment to the health of the low-income children, people with disabilities, and the elderly.

U.S. Senators Craig Thomas (R-WY) and Kent Conrad, (D-ND) successfully included a provision to restore $100 million in funding for the rural flexibility program (Flex), rural health outreach grants, the small hospital improvement program, telehealth, trauma care, and rural access to emergency devices programs.

These rural health programs address many health care needs in rural communities including: developing rural health networks, improving emergency medical services (EMS), conducting quality initiatives, funding for new public health outreach programs, and providing technical assistance to small, rural hospitals.

Constituents of these senators need to thank them for their help.