Rhode Island seeks limits on Medicaid spending

Rhode Island officials are seeking unprecedented authority to rein in Medicaid spending to offset a severe budget shortfall. The plan could save the state millions of dollars, but critics say it would limit access to nursing homes, charge poor families more for medical care, and potentially establish waiting lists or cut people from the program. The critics are now urging the Bush administration to reject the state's request for a waiver to cap its Medicaid spending at about a quarter of the state budget without regard to rising healthcare costs or the number of families in poverty.