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Politics : Right Wing Extremist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (57592)	10/22/2009 8:41:03 AM
From: Hope Praytochange	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 59480

In a defeat for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), who had pushed the Medicare bill, Democratic leaders failed to advance a plan that would have halted years of payment cuts to doctors under Medicare's reimbursement schedule. Payments are scheduled to fall 21% next year, although Congress has always made one-year fixes to prevent such cuts. The bill would have upended that arrangement and instead frozen doctor payments at this year's level for the next decade. Thirteen Democrats joined all 40 Republicans to vote 53-47 against a motion to proceed on the Medicare bill, which would have cost $247 billion over 10 years. Most of the Democratic defections were moderates who worried about the bill's impact on the federal budget deficit. Sen. Reid signaled his intention to proceed with a shorter-term measure. The Senate Finance Committee's health-overhaul bill would stave off the cuts for an additional year. The defeat could make it more difficult for lawmakers to win support for the broader health overhaul from doctors. J. James Rohack, president of the American Medical Association, said the doctors group was "deeply disappointed" the measure had been blocked. "Permanent repeal of the payment formula is essential to ensuring the security and stability of Medicare," he said.