Bush Rolls Back Clinton's Medicaid Rules Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, said, "The Bush administration has taken every opportunity to side with the H.M.O. industry and against Medicaid patients in these regulations." A Medicaid patient who needs a life-saving treatment on Friday might have to wait until the next Wednesday because the "emergency protections don't apply over the weekend," Mr. Waxman said. About half of the 40 million Medicaid recipients are in managed care. Many are heavy users of medical care. They generally do not have the money to go outside the network of doctors and hospitals selected by their health plans. William A. Pierce, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said he was unaware of specific differences between the Clinton and Bush rules. But Congressional aides expressed concern about several differences when they met today with federal Medicaid officials. Under the Clinton rules, H.M.O.'s had to do a comprehensive assessment of Medicaid patients with "special health care needs," including pregnant women, foster children and people over 65. Most of those requirements have been dropped. The Bush rules would allow patients to appeal an overt reduction, suspension, termination or denial of services. The new rules drop a provision that would, in addition, have allowed appeals if an H.M.O. simply "delayed access to services to the point where there is a substantial risk" of harm to the patients' health. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/17/politics/17MEDI.html