Representative John Dingell, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, says that it's likely a second economic stimulus package will include money to help states fund their Medicaid programs. If it did, the Medicaid package may look like legislation that's already been introduced, which would "increase FMAP by 2.95% for states and by 5.9% for U.S. territories from April 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009. The legislation would increase federal Medicaid spending by $10 billion to $15 billion."

Republicans are skeptical that this will pass, but I'm not so confident. The last time a bill like this was passed (in 2003, if memory serves), the GOP opposed it at first but then rolled over and gave states the bailout they didn't deserve.

States like Ohio and Maryland are expanding their Medicaid programs even though they are already facing budget problems. Why should federal taxpayers bail them out of their bad choices?