Us Lawmakers Regroup on Hurricane Health Bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - A day after Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked a bipartisan bill to extend health insurance coverage to low-income people displaced by Hurricane Katrina, sponsors of the measure said they will continue to press for its quick passage.

"We're going to work on 4 or 5 senators to see if we can take care of their objections," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, Iowa Republican, who crafted the bill with the panel's top Democrat, Max Baucus of Montana.

Grassley and Baucus tried late Monday to pass the bill by "unanimous consent," but several Republicans objected.

"We as a Congress, need to get a better handle on the money being spent," said Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign. "We have an obligation to those affected by the hurricane as well as to those Americans we are asking to help pay the costs of relief," he added.

Agreed Republican Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire, "I do not think being more deliberative in addressing this legislation and reviewing this legislation will hurt its efficacy and effectiveness in the long run."

But backers of the bill said that thousands of families made homeless and uninsured by the hurricane need help now.

"This crisis has shown just how important this safety net is to our nation," said Arkansas Democrat Blanche Lincoln, who offered an even more generous package of health coverage three weeks ago, but withdrew it so a bipartisan plan could be worked out.

"Here we are talking about the elemental part of being a good neighbor, a fellow human being, looking to make sure the essentials of providing health care to our brothers and sisters in this country, and we are going to sit here and twiddle our thumbs over red tape?" she said.

And while Congress deliberates, officials in the hurricane-struck states are turning away people every day who are applying for health coverage through the Medicaid program, which the bill would expand.

As of last week, according to a survey by Louisiana state workers at three large shelters in the state, 20 percent of those who have asked about potential Medicaid coverage have been turned away, and one third of those who have completed the application process have been denied Medicaid coverage, largely because they do not fall into one of the program's eligibility categories. Medicaid does not cover everyone who is poor -- only those who meet other requirements as well, such as being a child under age 19, over age 65, or permanently disabled.

The survey results were reported by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.