Editorial: Medicaid bill that is fair, vital

Thursday, Sept. 29, 2005 | 9:22 a.m.

News reports have highlighted the dilemma of low-income hurricane victims whose homes and sources of income have been lost. Tens of thousands of them boarded buses for other states to escape the devastation and flooding. They were grateful to be alive but found themselves in new surroundings with no place to live, no jobs, very little money and nothing to go back to. States arranged temporary living quarters for them but tremendous needs remain, including medical services.

Sensitive to their plight, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the committee's top Democrat, introduced legislation that would ensure the victims received health care without experiencing lengthy delays caused by confusion over how hospitals and doctors would be paid. The bill, expected to cost about $8 billion, would extend Medicaid coverage to all hurricane victims who lack the ability to pay on their own.

Medicaid normally is a shared expense between states and the federal government. Under this bill, the federal government would pick up the entire costs for eligible victims. This is fair, as not all states are receiving victims. The states that are should not have to shoulder extra costs in what is a national responsibility. Also, the bill would allow care to start flowing rapidly to the victims, as state legislatures wouldn't have to meet and decide how to make room in their sparse budgets for the extra expense. Yet the Grassley-Baucus bill is encountering strong opposition.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is a leading opponent of the bill, despite the fact that Nevada has received about 2,500 of the victims. Ensign, and the Bush administration, oppose the bill because of its cost. In our view, the cost is nothing in comparison to the trillions of dollars in federal revenue lost through tax cuts supported by Ensign and the president -- tax cuts favoring the highest-income households. Why the recalcitrance when it comes to doing something for the poor, especially poor people traumatized by the hurricanes?

We believe the Grassley-Baucus bill should be passed as soon as possible. This bill is not about cost. It's about compassion.