Kempthorne Applauds Passage Of Federal Medicare Bill

November 25 2003

KEMPTHORNE APPLAUDS PASSAGE OF FEDERAL MEDICARE BILL

(BOISE) Governor Dirk Kempthorne issued the following statement in response to the passage of the Medicare bill in Congress today:

"I would like to commend our Congressional delegation for their leadership in advancing this historic legislation. Reps. Mike Simpson and Butch Otter were critical in moving this legislation through the House and on to the Senate where Sens. Larry Craig and Mike Crapo were instrumental in its final passage.

"The Medicare bill passed today in Congress is good for seniors and good for Idaho. In addition to the new prescription drug benefit, this bill makes tremendous advances in preventative health care and chronic disease management. The bill also provides much needed support to Idaho's rural hospitals and health care providers.

"Also, as Chairman of the National Governors Association and as Governor of a state seeing explosive growth in Medicaid costs, I am very pleased with the recent additions to the Medicare bill that will provide an estimated $5 billion in health care related spending relief to states in 2006.

"The new language accelerates the take-over of state Medicaid drug costs for the dual-eligible by the federal Medicare program. This provision will provide much needed relief to states as they address the spiraling costs of their Medicaid programs."

The additions of the federal reimbursement of state Medicaid costs and the acceleration the federal take-over of dual-eligible drug costs came late last week after Kempthorne pushed for the additions during a meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson in Washington, D.C.