Officials Admit Disaster Plan "Deficiencies"

Two Bush administration Cabinet members acknowledged gaps in the capability of U.S. hospitals to deal with a mass-casualty terrorist attack or other disaster, but they said a congressional effort to block pending Medicaid cuts will not fix the problem. President Bush has threatened to veto House legislation that would impose a one-year moratorium on changes sought by HHS to Medicaid, the federal insurance program for the poor. State officials said the impact would be greater, including cuts to physicians at teaching hospitals and to urban public hospitals whose emergency rooms are already strained.