Pataki Lobbies for Increased Federal Medicaid Match

New York Gov. George Pataki (R) joined members of the state's congressional delegation yesterday on Capitol Hill to lobby for an increase in the federal Medicaid matching rate, CongressDaily/AM reports. "This is an important part of the recovery effort for New York," he said. Senate Democrats have introduced a bill that would raise the matching rate, which currently ranges from 50% to 80% depending on state wealth, by 2 percentage points "across the board, and more for states hit hardest by the economic fallout from Sept. 11," CongressDaily/AM reports. Such action "would be a mainline injection of dollars right into our states and localities," Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, adding that a 2-point increase would translate into $800 million for New York. In the House, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) has introduced a bill to raise the matching rate by 2 points across the board and 2.5 points for "hard-hit states." Pataki said he has found "significant support" for raising the matching rate among congressional leaders and officials from the Bush administration, but "conceded that some Republican leaders do oppose the concept" (CongressDaily/AM, 12/12).