Heidi Alexander: “At our summit on Thursday, there were a number of good ideas about reducing health care costs that the President seemed…”

“At our summit on Thursday, there were a number of good ideas about reducing health care costs that the President seemed to share with Republican Members who were there. There was some obvious irritation on the part of the majority leader and others when we said things such as there is $1/2 trillion worth of cuts in Medicare, which there are. Our real objection to it is that the cuts are not used to save Medicare, which is going broke, but spent on a new program-- $1/2 trillion in new taxes. There is $1/2 trillion in new taxes. As I have just said, they tend to increase premiums for millions of Americans. There are premium increases. There is a deficit increase. It is true the CBO has said that what was presented to them didn't increase the deficit, but what was not included in what was presented was paying doctors to serve patients in the government program we call Medicare. That is like having a horse race without the horses. How are you going to have a comprehensive health care bill and not include within its costs paying doctors to serve patients in the government program? When you put it in, the deficit goes up. Then there is a problem of the passing off to States these expanded Medicaid costs without paying for them. I know as a former Governor-- and I see the former Governor of Virginia in the chair--I struggled with that every single year. All the Governors are today in both parties. They don't want us sending them a bill for expanded health care.”