Grassley Set to Nominate Member To Serve on Medicaid Commission
June, 2005

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) is set to appoint a committee member to serve on the recently established Medicaid commission charged with recommending Medicaid reform, a Finance Committee spokeswoman said June 7.

"It's likely that he'll name his member in conjunction with the balance of the commission being named," according to the Finance Committee spokeswoman.

The Department of Health and Human Services has not indicated when it will announce who will serve on the Medicaid commission.

Grassley's appointee to the Medicaid commission will be a member of the Senate Finance Committee, a Senate GOP aide said. Finance committee member Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) has been invited to serve on the Medicaid commission, but has not indicated whether he will accept the invitation, the aide said.

During the budget negotiations involving Medicaid cuts, Smith was instrumental in convincing the Bush administration to establish a Medicaid commission. Smith had called for a more independent Medicaid commission to be operated by a neutral party such as the Institute of Medicine.

However, the Bush administration decided to allow HHS Secretary Michael O. Leavitt to oversee the appointment of up to 15 voting members to the commission, and to decide which of the 15 voting members should chair the commission.

The first mission of the Medicaid commission will be to issue a report by Sept. 1, with suggestions on achieving the $10 billion in Medicaid reductions required under the fiscal year 2006 budget resolution. By Dec. 31, 2006, the commission must produce longer-range Medicaid recommendations to "ensure the long-term sustainability of the program," according to HHS.

HHS announced May 20 the establishment of an advisory commission that will help identify strategies for reforming the Medicaid program (No. 98 HCDR 5/23/05 ).

Congressional Representation

Total congressional representation on the Medicaid commission will consist of eight policy experts designated by House and Senate congressional leaders. These congressional advisers will comprise a congressional advisory panel and will hold nonvoting positions on the committee. In a May 27 letter, Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, asked Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt to give members of Congress a vote on the Medicaid commission.

"By excluding Congressional representatives as voting members, the Commission would lack full participation by the policymakers ultimately responsible for enacting recommendations produced by the panel," Wilson said in the letter to the HHS secretary.

Meanwhile, the House Energy and Commerce Committee has not indicated its plans for appointing a representative to the commission. In addition, the Senate majority leader and the speaker of the House are entitled to appoint congressional advisers to the Medicaid commission.

House and Senate Democrats and the National Governors Association (No. 196 HCDR 6/3/05 ) have declined participation in the Medicaid commission (No. 102 HCDR 5/27/05 ).

June 3 was the deadline for the public to nominate individuals to serve as voting members on the commission.

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