Pete Domenici: “Mr. President, I thank Senator Frist for his comments on the floor, and I add one thought to it. Frankly, I, too, have a…”

“Mr. President, I thank Senator Frist for his comments on the floor, and I add one thought to it. Frankly, I, too, have a real concern about not doing anything this year about Medicaid. But I think the die is cast. However, it seems to me that the next episode that is going to push us to do something significant is not something that leadership should feel very proud of because I think we are going to be pushed by States that cannot afford to pay for the programs. We have all been talking about what is happening to the beneficiaries; how we are going to modify the program, make it more efficient, and what about the delivery system? But there has been very little talk about the fact that many States cannot afford the Medicaid Program. I note in my own State that there was a major story. People are confused when you talk about Medicaid not having enough money because they almost always believe that is us, the Fed's. But in my State the story was our State has not appropriated enough money for its share. We happen to be one of those States where only 25 percent is our burden; 75 is the Federal burden. We cannot even afford to pay for the program in its current form, and we are concerned about whether the Federal Government ought to reform it so that it becomes more efficient.”