Health Secretary Nominee May Cut Programs (1 day on the job)

[underpants]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=703&e=1&u=/ap/20041214/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_cabinet

WASHINGTON - Michael Leavitt, President Bush (news - web sites)'s choice to be secretary of Health and Human Services (news - web sites), may have to cut billions of dollars from the government's mammoth health programs for the elderly, poor and disabled to pare the budget deficit.

The Medicare and Medicaid programs, consuming nearly $500 billion a year and growing quickly, could be vulnerable in the context of last year's $413 billion budget deficit, the ongoing war in Iraq (news - web sites), costly domestic security commitments and administration plans to revamp Social Security (news - web sites) without raising taxes.