 California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger strongly criticized the Democratic members of California's Congressional delegation for supporting healthcare reform bills that would provide special financial benefits to selected states.
No Room for Favors:
Widespread Budget Suffering from Healthcare Costs
Speaking to David Gregory on NBC News’ Meet the Press, Schwarzenegger said the pivotal 60th vote required by Senate Democrats to pass healthcare reform was obtained through a promise to Sen. Nelson (D-Nebraska) for federal funding to cover Nebraska’s entire cost of a Medicaid expansion included in the bill.
Schwarzenegger declared “I’m holding out my vote, unless I get some extra kind of benefits here.” The governor went on: “I mean if you do that in Sacramento, you know, you’ll be sued. It is illegal to do that, to buy votes.”
The California Governor's comments echo other criticisms and analysis throughout the nation of the impact of federal healthcare reform on states. Time Magazine recently published an article on this subject, What Health Care Reform Means for the States.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has documented the severe and persistent state budget gaps across most of the nation, most notably in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida. Higher demand for healthcare for the needy is a critical driver of many states' budget shortfalls.
A new report from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured that documents how this trend has worsened during the recession is called, "Challenges of Providing Healthcare Coverage for Children and Parents in a Recession: A 50-State Update on Eligibility Rules, Enrollment and Renewal Procedures, and Cost-Sharing Practices in Medicaid and SCHIP in 2009." The 70-page report can be viewed by clicking here.
The Governing Arizona Study released in November by The Communications Institute and the Thomas R. Brown Foundations detailed the huge impact that Arizona's Medicaid program is having on its fiscal condition, one of the worst in the nation. (See also yesterday's ABC News report, "Arizona Health Program Drains Cash, Stirs Debate.")
Generous States Get Poor Return from Feds
Criticism of the return of taxes paid by states has long been an important issue beginning in the 1960s. The Tax Foundation provides a historical summary of state by state return in revenue from the US government.
See also the previous lengthy discussion of this issue by AnalysisOnline on the Headlines in the October 31, 2008 article, "Fiscal Federalism: States Short-Changed?"
President Richard Nixon launched an effort to massively reform the structure of the federal government through a concept called revenue sharing. While the government restructuring effort was never achieved, revenue sharing became federal law.
Nixon's government reform proposal was a combination of similar proposals by former Presidents Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Kennedy. PBS and other media have provided in-depth historical analysis of Nixon's proposals.
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