The House Committe on Oversight and Government Reform had a hearing today on the Bush administration's backdoor Medicaid cuts. Extremely loyal BudgetBlog readers may recall that the Administration has been pushing for rules that would cut Medicaid ever since the same cuts were rejected by the last (Republican-controlled!) Congress. I guess they haven't given up. The Administration is claiming that the rules will cut down on bad claims on Medicaid. Not so, says Chairman Waxman. But let's also be clear: these regulations are not about program integrity. If they were, CMS would be refining guidance and improving accountability. Instead they seek to prohibit services that have been successful for decades and cut funding that the Congress has specifically preserved. This is not careful surgery on Medicaid; this is reckless amputation. Furthermore, the Administration has enacted SCHIP regulations that could in effect cut children off child health insurance rolls. What's next, age ceilings for Medicare beneficiaries?