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From wire and Pilot reports
U.S. Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner went against their party's leadership this week to vote with Republicans and block action on a bill to spend $247 billion to increase Medicare payments to doctors.
The two Virginians were among a dozen Democrats and one independent who joined Republicans on Wednesday to vote against taking up the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., needed 60 votes to proceed; he got 47.
The Medicare bill, S1776, has become a proxy for larger issues in the debate over legislation to overhaul the health care system.
Reid said the bill, by averting big cuts in physician fees, guaranteed that doctors would continue accepting Medicare patients.
But since none of the costs was offset or paid for, Republicans said it was fiscally irresponsible, and a number of Democrats agreed, including Warner and Webb.
Warner and Webb objected to the Medicare bill because it offered no method for funding the 10 years of payments to doctors.
"While I believe doctors deserve to be paid appropriately and fixing the sustainable growth rate formula is important, we simply cannot continue adding to the deficit," Warner said in a statement. "We should reconsider this proposal with some mechanism that pays for it so that we do not continue adding to our national debt."
By addressing doctors' fees in a separate bill, Senate Democrats could hold down the cost of the broader health legislation, keeping it within the limits set by President Barack Obama. House Democrats are considering a similar tactic. Republicans said it was a transparent ploy to hide the cost of a health care overhaul.
Democrats had hoped that by passing the Medicare bill they could appease doctors and secure their support for the broader legislation.
Under current law, doctors face a 21.5 percent cut in Medicare fees in 2010 and then annual 5 percent cuts for several years. Since 2003, Congress has stepped in to postpone such cuts, but it has usually found ways to offset the cost to the government.
This story was compiled from reports by The New York Times and Pilot writer Bill Bartel.
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First things first . .
Why is it no one will forgo tackling all fraud that is in the existing healthcare/insurance system? It must be stopped.It has to be stopped. Can you imagine the numbers that it will come to? Then we should talk about the mad rush that seems to be going on in getting this heathcare bill approved but only to go into effect in 2012 ...right about the same time OB starts his run again. How convenient!
Money money money
Evidently we can't pay for the docs because Obama is giving the money away.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.96323f483e0be9f6a793eaa215ad708a.211&show_article=1
Apparently, Obama believes money is no object and debt spending is good fiscal policy.
I'm glad to see...
Sens' Webb and Warner becoming such fiscal watchdogs. But I have to ask, where was that 'alertness' when it came to that joke known as the 'stimulus package' earlier this year? They voted for it! The bulk of that money won't be spent until the next election year, and the admin has admitted that the maximum possible results have already been attained for this year. That's some result, is it not, with unemployment up several points higher than what the admin promised it would be if the stimulus was not passed to being with?
excuse me
But you might want to get Bob McD's input on that one.
I don't need...
him or anyone else to do my thinking for me. If YOU do, well then, address that with the ones who do that for you! OK?
Every other industrialized country in the world
Every other industrialized country in the world has national health insurance, and they pay HALF per capita what we pay for healthcare. Why? Because the insurance lobbyists gave $3.4 BILLION DOLLARS to members of Congress in the last decade. We are being ripped off, my friends.
wrong cut-and-paste
Did you even read the article? This story was about a bill that would pay evil, profit-seeking, selfish, rich doctors more money than they would under current law. I'd think you'd appreciate their voting against it, my friend.
medicare and doctors
Had to respond to the ignorant rant of cs. Doctors make so little money seeing Medicare patients that a further cut will put them "under water" each time they see someone older than 65 -- people who tend to have more medical problems, take up much more time. If the 21% cut isn't fixed people over 65 will simply lose access to health care. Primary care physicians who have all the business they can handle will simply stop seeing Medicare patients -- not out of greed but out of self-preservation.
Wooo Hooooooooo
Praise be to our two esteemed senators for finally realizing we can't add to the debt. Now, if only these two guys can convince all the other Bozos in Washington to do the same. This is not about Democrat vs Republican, this is about common sense. They are driving our dollar into the ground. If we keep going this way, the Yuan will be the international currency of choice.
Webb & Warner
I applaud both Senators for their stand.. the Dem vs Rep trip is destructive & counterproductive..
Both Senators are responsible for representing the citizens of Va, and every poll (that has gaged a cross-section of insured & uninsured Virginians)shows that we do not support the current health-care reform effort..
It is their job to represent our will. They're doing their job right now.. I wish other Senators would lay down their party affiliation, and represent the will of the ppl.. The majority of Americans do not support this corrupt & irresponsible 'reform' effort.