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Official mum on states that are Medicaid wrongdoers

By wire services
Published February 17, 2005

WASHINGTON - Health Secretary Mike Leavitt on Wednesday refused to identify the states he says are cheating taxpayers out of $40-billion in Medicaid money, even as senators pressed him for details about President Bush's proposal to force states to curb mismanagement.

Bush has proposed squeezing Medicaid by forcing the states to find $40-billion over a decade by correcting mismanagement on their end of the state-federal health insurance program for the poor. That would lessen the financial pressure on the federal government.

Several governors met with Leavitt and Senate leaders to emphasize state opposition to Bush's proposed cuts and their desire to win more flexibility to pursue their own savings.

Leavitt has refused to name the offending states, except to say Utah was not one of them while he was governor. He says his refusal is due in part to his belief that disclosing the state could alienate the other half of the money partnership as the federal government and the states chart Medicaid's future.

WASHINGTON - A bill to close gaps in the Freedom of Information Act and speed release of government documents was introduced Wednesday by a bipartisan pair of senators on the Judiciary Committee.

Sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and the panel's ranking Democrat, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the OPEN Government Act of 2005 was endorsed by 27 interest groups in journalism and across the political spectrum, from the liberal American Civil Liberties Union to the conservative Heritage Foundation.

The bill restates the original 1966 act's "strong presumption in favor of disclosure" while noting the law has not always lived up to its ideals.

"If records can be open, they should be open," Cornyn said. "If there is a good reason to keep something closed, it is the government that should bear the burden (of proof) - not the other way around."

FOIA was last revised nearly a decade ago, and the last Senate compliance hearings were in 1992.

WASHINGTON - Control towers at some airports could go dark between midnight and 5 a.m. under a cost-cutting plan the government is considering.

The air traffic controllers' union says the move would compromise safety. Lawmakers worry it could lead to service reductions in their states.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said Wednesday that if the Federal Aviation Administration closes the tower in Fairbanks, Alaska, during the early morning hours, it "would be the most stupid suggestion I've ever heard from the bureaucracy."

Only one Florida airport, Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, is on the list.

FAA spokesman Greg Martin said the agency is looking to adjust staffing to meet changes in demand.

The FAA has not made a final decision and is reviewing each airport, he said.

There are 48 airports that handle few commercial and cargo flights in those five late-night hours.

WASHINGTON - The nation's new homeland security secretary greeted agency employees Wednesday during his first day on the job, highlighting the importance of their work in helping fight the war on terrorism.

"In the wake of Sept. 11, the job of protecting the homeland has taken on an urgency as never before," Michael Chertoff told about 300 employees.

Chertoff, 51, spent his first day as head of the 180,000-employee agency attending an early morning White House briefing and meetings with department officials.

[Last modified February 17, 2005, 01:22:08]