Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) has, in recent days, said he can’t vote for health care reform unless his state is reimbursed by the federal government for expanding Medicaid benefits as are other states. Today, after hearing a summary of what’s in the reconciliation package, Engel tells Brian Beutler and other reporters that he could vote for the bill.
“I want to vote for health care reform,” Engel wrote in an op-ed last week in the New York Daily News. “However, my vote cannot be taken for granted if my home state is getting a bad deal.”
The Senate bill would have discriminated among states, providing 100% reimbursement for states whose Medicaid programs underperformed, but keeping “do-gooder” states at the same rate they’re reimbursed at now. New York, because it provides Medicare to people earning up to 150% of the poverty level, would get less reimbursement than other states.
“Just because our Medicaid system has been so successful for our citizens does not mean that states such as Mississippi should get the same system and have the federal government pay for it. We have carried the burden for too long, and we cannot tolerate a substantial decrease in federal funding,” he wrote, adding that New York officials have estimated a $1 billion shortfall should health care reform pass.
But the reconciliation package, as described by Rep. Henry Waxman, reimburses all states at the same level. If that’s true, Engel said, he could vote for the bill, but he wouldn’t commit to a “yes” vote until he sees the final language.
The language is set to be unveiled at noon.
