Tuesday, March 23, 2010

McCain Amendment (#3570) Striking “Sweetheart Deals”

Senator McCain has offered an amendment (#3570) to strike the “sweetheart deals” included in the health care law and the reconciliation bill.
Summary:
  • The amendment repeals the following “sweetheart deals” included in the health care law and the reconciliation bill:

1. Increase in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments just for Tennessee (Section 1203, page 71 of H.R. 4872);
2. Increase in Medicaid DSH payments just for Hawaii (Section 10201, page 2132 of H.R. 3590);
3. The “Louisiana Purchase” to increase Medicaid funding just for Louisiana (Section 2006, page 428 of H.R. 3590);
4. Increased Medicare reimbursement just for frontier states (Section 10324, page 2237 of H.R. 3590);
5. Medicare coverage just for Libby, Montana residents exposed to environmental hazards (Section 10323, page 2222 of H.R. 3590);
6. A $100 million hospital funding provision intended to benefit Connecticut (Section 10502, page 2354 of H.R. 3590); and
7. Extension of Section 508 hospital reimbursement provisions just to Michigan and Connecticut (Section 10905, pages 2205-06 of H.R. 3590)

Arguments in Favor:
  • Citizens in other states should not be asked to see their taxpayer dollars funding special “backroom deals” for certain locales.
  • The public outrage over the “Cornhusker Kickback” included in H.R. 3590 may lead many to believe it is long past time for Congress to strip out ALL of the “backroom deals” included in the Senate bill – rather than using the reconciliation measure to add more of them.
  • Given President Obama’s campaign promises of transparency – including his famous pledge to televise negotiations on C-SPAN – the American people deserve action consistent with Democrats’ rhetoric.
  • If Democrats support this government takeover of health care, they should be willing to support the legislation on its own merits – without the need to add on extraneous “backroom deals” in order to win votes.