GOP: Let states set own Medicaid rules  Mississippi Gov. Haley
Barbour, policy chairman for the GOP Governors Association,
prepares to discuss Medicaid. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour,
policy chairman for the GOP Governors Association, prepares to
discuss Medicaid. (JACQUELYN MARTIN / Associated Press)
Republicans want federal laws loosened and more state control of
how the money is spent.  Posted: August 31, 2011  WASHINGTON -
The nation's Republican governors, seeking a voice in Congress'
forthcoming debt debate, on Tuesday pushed for loosening
restrictions on how states spend money on health care for poor
and disabled Americans.  States, they argued, should be allowed
to design their own Medicaid programs and operate them with a
lump payment every year from the federal government, and then be
held accountable for the results. Outdated or inappropriate
federal guidelines now make it more burdensome to provide a
health-care safety net that's one of the biggest expenses for
cash-strapped states, the governor