Posted on 12/05/2009 3:23:51 PM PST by FromLori
Democrats held fast Saturday against another Republican attempt to restore funding for a Medicare program facing cuts in the Senate healthcare bill.
During a rare weekend session, Senate Democrats blocked a GOP move to restore about $42 billion in funding for a home healthcare Medicare program. Democrats argued that the cuts wouldn't affect Medicare patients' quality of care and would make the home healthcare benefit stronger by forcing it to be more efficient.
The amendment received the support of 41 senators, most of whom were Republicans. A floor amendment to the healthcare bill needs 60 votes to be adopted.
Republicans have sought to portray the approximately $460 billion worth of Medicare cuts in the healthcare bill as evidence that the Democrats' plans will put seniors' healthcare at risk.
"What will happen is that these programs will disappear because they'll go in the red because of the cuts these Democrats are proposing," said Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), the sponsor of the amendment that was rejected Saturday.
On Thursday, Republicans offered an amendment blocking all proposed Medicare cuts, but it failed on a largely party-line vote.
Democrats have pushed back against the GOP strategy by noting that the AARP supports the Medicare reductions, which will help pay for the rest of the healthcare reform legislation. Democrats accused Republicans on Saturday of standing in the way of healthcare proposals that will help all Americans, including seniors.
"They keep wanting to strip something out, they keep wanting to send the bill back so it ends this process altogether," said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) "But they don't come to the floor of the Senate and show us how we could fix it more effectively and, in fact, serve seniors better rather than just embracing the status quo."
While most of the Democratic conference voted to reject the amendment, a handful of centrist Democrats joined the GOP Saturday. The Democratic defectors were Sens. Evan Bayh (Ind.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Jim Webb (Va.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.).
Republicans see the battle over Medicare as key to winning over public support in their attempts to stop the Democrats' healthcare proposals.
"Every survey anybody has seen on this issue shows that the American people are asking us to stop this bill," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Saturday.
A USA Today/Gallup survey released this week showed that 49 percent of Americans want their members of Congress to oppose the bill while 44 percent of Americans want their lawmakers to support it.
Republicans plan to try to attack the Democrats on Medicare again Sunday with another amendment aimed at the proposed cuts, a senior Senate GOP aide said.
Democrats are countering with their own Medicare-related amendment Sunday. The proposal by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) would limit tax deductions on pay for health insurance executives so that they could make no more than the president, whose salary is $400,000. The savings, which Democrats estimate to be $650 billion over 10 years, would go into the Medicare trust fund.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that Lincoln's amendment and other changes in the healthcare bill will lead to a more efficient healthcare system that covers more Americans.
"The fact is that our bill will, in short, save lives, save money, and save Medicare," Reid said. "It will make it possible for each and every American to afford to live a healthy life. We can't afford not to do this."
I can’t even imagine if these roles were reversed. The hell that would be breaking loose.
Last summer my husband paid our membership up for two years. Dang it! I will call next week and see if we can get a refund. If not, I’ll just tell ‘em where they can put it.
As I see it, one of the core problems America faces is the abdication of their legitimacy by the vast majority of newspapers and other media sources. We no longer have widespread freedom of the press.
Tell them that you want your money back because they collected it under false pretenses. They claim that they represent the interests of retired and approaching retiring people when they clearly do not. I wonder if there's a class action lawsuit in there somewhere for some enterprising set of lawyers.
“The Democratic defectors were Sens. Evan Bayh (Ind.)”
Bayh is up for reelection next year. After voting for all things Obama, Reed, Pelosi, he now backtracking. It won’t work Bayh.
Talked a friend of mine in the nursing home business this weekend, he says they are about done anyway and this will kill the long term care business. He said that there is a new Medicare change coming out in 2010 that stops paying for rehab in Nursing homes that is going to shut down a lot of places. So, Hospitals will have to start keeping patients longer due to no where to discharge people too. Plus, Medicaid is only paying for about 60% of the cost of a bed.
Don’t have the time but sure wish someone could research this. I have.a hunch that the dems were responsible for the spending they are now wanting to cut.
Democrats are countering with their own Medicare-related amendment Sunday. The proposal by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) would limit tax deductions on pay for health insurance executives so that they could make no more than the president, whose salary is $400,000. The savings, which Democrats estimate to be $650 billion over 10 years, would go into the Medicare trust fund.
Can these people get any more unconstitutional than this?
Wait, I can answer that one, YES.
This is irrelevant. The only relevant point is any federal version of government run health care is unconstitutional since Article 1 Section 8 does not specifically grant Congress the power to regulate health care. This is the point people need to impress upon their politicians!
So true! LOL!!!!!
You’re kidding, right? I recall very well how the damned DemocRATS accused Republicans of cutting funding to Medicare and accused them of trying to kill seniors, making them choose between eating (cat food) and having their prescription drugs. And the lies were parroted on EVERY damned channel of the main/lamestream media. In fact, the Reps were increasing medicare....just not as ‘big’ an increase as the ahole DemocRATS wanted (they were not in power, however). THAT is how they, the DemonRats play and that is how they ‘roll’. It’s time that we start playing as rough as they do....and maybe a helluva lot rougher.
Past time, in fact.
Hospitals won't be able to absorb the difference, so they're going to have to force people out into the streets to die. I'm constantly amazed at how evil liberals really are. They can cheerfully consign untold hundreds of thousands to death and try to claim it's progress...but then again, compared to their roots in communism and socialism they're pikers till they hit the hundreds of millions. I guess that's how they can live with the 30 million plus children murdered in the name of progress and convenience by the liberals.
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