By Tony McVeigh
Frankfort, KY – The first hour of the negotiations was spent comparing the House and Senate plans for balancing the Medicaid budget. The House adopted the governor's proposal, but Senate President David Williams is skeptical of the amount of money the governor can save through managed care. Here, he raises the question with Rep. Jimmie Lee.
"Do you really believe they can reduce Medicaid expenditures by $800 million, starting from ground zero today, by the end of next fiscal year?"
"I think that would be very difficult to do."
House Speaker Greg Stumbo is encouraged with how the talks are going so far. So is Senate budget chairman Bob Leeper, but more discussion is needed. With only two days left in the session, the conferees will have to scramble to find common ground.