Just The Bribes

[Kathianne]

I thought it might be illuminating to just list what 'bribes' the Democrats, in particular Pelosi and Reid have offered to get this health care plan through, 'for the good of the people.'

I thought just a list, since deeds speak louder than sarcasm:

http://firedoglake.com/2010/03/19/stupak-abortion-language-to-be-substituted-for-senate-language-in-deal-to-secure-health-care-votes/



Stupak Abortion Language to Be Substituted for Senate Language in Deal to Secure Health Care Votes
By: Jane Hamsher Friday March 19, 2010 7:30 pm

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made a deal with Rep. Bart Stupak in order to secure his vote and that of other anti-choice Democrats for the health care bill, which is scheduled to be voted on this Sunday. According to a member of Congress who was briefed on the matter, Pelosi has agreed to let Stupak have a vote on his amendment, which instructs the Senate to substitute his language for the Senate language on abortion...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/18/nebraska-scores-again-health-care-endgame/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_must-read-stories-today


Health-vote ally Nelson to get new VA hospital for Nebraska

Rowan Scarborough

The Obama administration has delivered another budget plum to Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson and the state of Nebraska, adding more than a half-billion dollars for a new veterans hospital in Omaha.

The move reverses a decision by Mr. Obama's own Veterans Administration of a year ago, which called for repairing an existing hospital.

...

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100319/NEWS02/3190361/Health+bill+gives+TN+hospitals++99M


Health bill gives TN hospitals
$99M

Rep. Bart Gordon of Tennessee is on board
after early opposition

By Alan Fram and David Espo • ASSOCIATED
PRESS • March 19, 2010

WASHINGTON — Bye bye, Cornhusker Kickback.
Hello, special treatment for Tennessee and North
Dakota.

Democrats unveiling revisions Thursday to their
health-care overhaul bill decided to kill the extra
$100 million in Medicaid funds for Nebraska that
has become a symbol of backdoor deal making. But
the 153 pages of changes to the package include an
additional $99 million in 2012 and 2013 for
Tennessee hospitals that treat many poor people.
...

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=36065


Buying the Blue Dog Democrats?

Most interesting rumor from the Hill yesterday: Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) who announced his retirement from Congress has been promised the job of NASA administrator in exchange for his vote, and Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.), another retiring Democrat, has been promised an appointment as U.S. Ambassador to NATO in exchange for his vote.

It will be interesting to note any job announcements from this Tennessee duo post-House retirement. Both voted against passage of the House bill back in November...

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/03/025868.php


...Although the package nationalizes the student loan system, one bank -- the state-owned Bank of North Dakota -- would be allowed to continue making student loans. Such a deal for North Dakota's Democratic congressional delegation facing massive opposition to Obamacare back home.

North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan has already announced his retirement rather than try to defend Obamacare to his constituents. Kent Conrad -- North Dakota's other Democratic senator -- is employing the full Nelson, declining the bribe. Referring to "an overly heated partisan environment," he asked the House to remove the buyoff from the legislation.

We await word from Rep. Earl Pomeroy, the state's lone member of the House. Before the package was announced, Pomeroy was an enthusiastic advocate of the buyoff. "We want what's taking place in North Dakota protected," Pomeroy said. It is not clear whether Pomeroy shares Conrad's second thoughts

And Congress will now expressly fund racial discrimination in higher education:


The new package also promises new aid for colleges serving minority students, using money the government is supposed to save by no longer paying banks to make student loans. Included are annual payments of $100 million for schools with large numbers of Hispanic students, the same amount for colleges with many black students, and millions more for schools with large numbers of native Americans and other minorities.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=527775


Buying Votes With Water
Posted 03/18/2010 06:59 PM ET

Congressman Costa: Trading health care for water, with an endangered fish to be named later.

Politics: The water spigots are back on, at least temporarily, in California's Central Valley. Turned off to protect a tiny fish, they happen to be in the districts of two congressmen "undecided" on health care reform...

[LiberalNation]

got to pay to play, it's politics and it's best.

[Kathianne]

got to pay to play, it's politics and it's best.

Thanks for reminding me, 'pay to go' then $15 billion in unfunded spending within 24 hours. Not quite bribes, but definitely hypocrisy and playing the electorate for fools. It's not working anymore.

[Missileman]

If this healthcare reform were such a great deal for Americans, it wouldn't take all this buy-off and arm twisting.

They're playing fast and loose with the numbers and have stripped the DOCTOR fix (apparently in their minds Doctors aren't part of healthcare) which when added to the proposed bill the CBO says will INCREASE the defcict by $59 billion a year. I expect every Republican who gets near a microphone or gets the floor will shout this at the top of their lungs.

[Kathianne]

If this healthcare reform were such a great deal for Americans, it wouldn't take all this buy-off and arm twisting.

They're playing fast and loose with the numbers and have stripped the DOCTOR fix (apparently in their minds Doctors aren't part of healthcare) which when added to the proposed bill the CBO says will INCREASE the defcict by $59 billion a year. I expect every Republican who gets near a microphone or gets the floor will shout this at the top of their lungs.

Indeed:

A new $29 B gimmick in the reconciliation bill
Posted By kbh On March 19, 2010 @ 5:56 pm In budget, featured, health | 2 Comments

(Updates and corrections are in green.)

A knowledgeable friend pointed out a $29 B Medicaid gimmick in the reconciliation bill that has so far, to my knowledge, not been publicly discussed.

Both the huge amount of hidden spending and the irresponsible policy should offend responsible policymakers. The reconciliation bill would create a new funding cliff for doctors in Medicaid, parallel to the Medicare doctor funding cliff in current law that fouls Congress up each year. By creating this funding cliff the bill’s authors were able to shave $29 B off the CBO score and once again make the bill appear less expensive than it really is.

In the late 90’s the feds gave up authority to determine Medicaid payments to providers, leaving all that authority in the hands of States. States liked this because they could squeeze payment rates to providers (hospitals, doctors, nursing homes) to save money.

You’ll remember from an earlier post [1] that Medicaid is a shared federal-State financing arrangement. On average the feds pay 57 cents of each dollar spent in a State Medicaid program, and the State covers the other 43 cents. This federal match rate varies by State.

The bill passed by the House last November contained a huge Medicaid win for doctors and their lobby the American Medical Association, although at the expense of federal taxpayers rather than States:


*Through their Medicaid programs, States would be required to pay primary care doctors no less than Medicare pays. In some cases this would significantly increase the amount a doctor received for performing a service in Medicaid. This was a reversal of the late 90’s bipartisan policy change giving States complete flexibility to set Medicaid payment rates to providers.

*The federal government would reimburse States for any the increased Medicaid costs that result from this mandated payment rate increase. The federal match rate for the incremental cost would be 100%.

This was a $57 B win (over 10 years) for primary care doctors in the House-passed bill. This is in addition to a much-discussed separate $210 B side deal commitment to the AMA from the White House and Democratic Congressional Leaders to support separate legislation that would prevent Medicare payments to doctors from declining in future years. I will surmise that the $267 B of additional Medicare and Medicaid payments to doctors are the primary reason AMA supported the House-passed bill.

CBO charged the House-passed bill with $57 B of additional spending for this provision.

For reference, the relevant legislative language can be found in §1721 of the House-passed bill [2] (H.R. 3962). The $57 B figure can be found on the line for §1721 on page 7 of the CBO estimate [3].

Now we have a new reconciliation bill that the Speaker will try to pass on Sunday. §1202 of the new reconciliation bill [4] (p. 60) is identical to §1721 of the House-passed bill [2] except for the dates.

The House-passed bill contains this policy as a permanent windfall for primary care doctors beginning in 2010 (it’s phased in over the first two years).

The reconciliation bill’s authors have limited the House-passed provision so that it applies only for 2013 and 2014.

CBO charged the new reconciliation bill with only $8 B of additional spending [5], since the provision is in effect for only two years.

For reference, the new legislative language is in §1202 of the reconciliation bill [4], and the $8.3 B figure is on the line for §1202 on page 10 of the CBO estimate [5].

The reconciliation bill would therefore create a new Medicaid (not Medicare) “primary care doctor payment cliff,” beginning after 2014. Just as Congress is under unbearable pressure now from doctors to prevent Medicare payments to doctors from being cut, the reconciliation bill would create exactly the same thing in Medicaid, beginning January 1, 2015.

If you assume Congress will not allow that newly created Medicaid funding cliff to bite beginning in 2015, they will spend an additional $29 B in the first decade, beginning in 2015.

This is an intentional gimmick designed to reduce by $29 B the scored cost of the reconciliation bill. As policymakers on both sides of the aisle bemoan the mid-90s Medicare policy change that created today’s Medicare funding cliff, the Speaker and her allies propose to create an exact parallel in Medicaid, beginning Monday.

It’s hard to say which is worse: intentionally hiding $29 B of spending, or intentionally creating a funding cliff. I’ll call it a tie.


http://keithhennessey.com/2010/03/19/medicaid-cliff/

[Jeff]

got to pay to play, it's politics and it's best.

NAAA Politics at its best will be when they impeach the black bastard and send him back to his home in Kenya

[revelarts]

More big gov't robbery, corruption and control. the whole Federal gov't turning into Chicago during prohibition. Where's Eliot Ness when you need him?

[LiberalNation]

he has to commit a crime to be impeached.