Thread: White House and Democratic leaders offering doctors a deal

Reid offers doctors a deal

By Alexander Bolton - 10/20/09 06:00 AM ET
Comments 65

The White House and Democratic leaders are offering doctors a deal: They’ll freeze cuts in Medicare payments to doctors in exchange for doctors’ support of healthcare reform.

At a meeting on Capitol Hill last week with nearly a dozen doctors groups, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the Senate would take up separate legislation to halt scheduled Medicare cuts in doctor payments over the next 10 years. In return, Reid made it clear that he expected their support for the broader healthcare bill, according to four sources in the meeting.

A spokesman for Reid declined to comment for this story.

Also in the meeting were: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.); Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.); White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel; Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag; and Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House healthcare office.

“They said they’re going to need our help in getting healthcare reform over the goal line and they expect our support,â€

If the Democrats have to BRIBE key players in this "deal" then we should all know this is NOT a good thing for Americans!