Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today said he was pleased that the Senate has given final approval to a key spending bill that contains a provision he’s been fighting for that would prevent more than $180 million in Medicaid cuts to New Mexico.

Last year, the Bush administration, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, put in place or proposed new regulations that limit how states use their own Medicaid funding to pay public hospitals and other healthcare providers. The most significant of the administration’s proposals would devastate New Mexico’s Sole Community Provider Fund, which plays a critical role in ensuring New Mexicans in rural areas of the state have access to life-saving hospital services and funds programs for uninsured New Mexicans. It also would cause the University of New Mexico Hospital and other New Mexico institutions to lose millions of dollars for the care they provide.

Bingaman introduced a stand-alone measure to prevent the most harmful regulations from being implemented, and has worked hard as a member of the Senate Finance Committee to prevent any Medicaid cuts to New Mexico. Bingaman’s provision, which was included in the supplemental spending bill that passed the Senate today, would stop the regulations from taking effect this year.

“It is unfortunate that the Bush Administration would move to limit health care access to many Americans, especially in light on the growing uninsured crisis,” Bingaman said. “The provision included in this bill will ensure that thousands on New Mexicans will continue to receive the health care coverage they deserve.”

The provision would also prevent other cuts to the Medicaid Graduate Medical Education payments, which supports safety-net hospitals that train physicians and would block the implementation of several other regulations that would impact the following:

• The ability of schools to help enroll children in Medicaid and coordinate their health care services;

• Rehabilitation services provided to people with disabilities, especially those with mental illness and intellectual disabilities;

• Case management services for the elderly, children in foster care and people with disabilities;

• States’ abilities to expand enrollment of children in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP);

• Specialized medical transportation services for children;

• Medicaid payments for outpatient hospital services.

The bill can now be sent to the president for signature.