Pelosi and Co. came up with a smoke and mirrors device that would, in the words of the Wall Street Journal, shock even Ponzi scheme king Madoff - and calls Obama's promise not to sign any legislation that would increase the deficit as "indefensible".
Perhaps another reason why Pelosi has attempted to limit full review of the Democrat healthcare bill at every turn? Indeed...
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REVIEW & OUTLOOK NOVEMBER 18, 2009
The $1.9 Trillion Gimmick
The Democrats' 'doc fix' for Medicare payments would shock Madoff.
What passes for a joke on Capitol Hill these days is that Bernie Madoff, given his experience managing Ponzi schemes, should be put in charge of the federal budget. Nancy Pelosi & Co. seem to have taken it as a serious suggestion.
Any day now, the House is expected to vote on a $210 billion fiscal swindle that will prevent automatic cuts in Medicare payments to doctors. The entitlement's price controls are scheduled to fall by 21.5% in January and another 2% every year after that under a formula known as the sustainable growth rate, and eliminating the SGR was the price the American Medical Association demanded in return for its endorsement of the House health-care bill that passed earlier this month.
The "doc fix" was originally part of ObamaCare, until Mrs. Pelosi realized that adding a quarter-trillion dollars to the total tab made it difficult to pretend the bill would reduce the deficit. In the "Fiscal Responsibility" section of the press release announcing the separate SGR package, Democrats insist that it will be subject to "the 'pay as you go' principle of budget discipline," which "requires Congress to find a way to pay for any new spending" with new taxes or cuts.
The Comedy Central punchline: "A previous Congress established the policy for paying Medicare doctors, so the update for 2010 is not a new policy to be paid for. . . . The Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act would not increase total payments to physicians above what they are today and therefore, would not be subject to the paygo requirement." In other words, under the Madoff school of accounting, Democrats rely on straight deficit spending.
...President Obama's continued promises that he won't sign a health bill that increases the deficit is by now indefensible.
Rest of the article here:
House to Vote on Doc Fix - WSJ.com
Perhaps another reason why Pelosi has attempted to limit full review of the Democrat healthcare bill at every turn? Indeed...
____
REVIEW & OUTLOOK NOVEMBER 18, 2009
The $1.9 Trillion Gimmick
The Democrats' 'doc fix' for Medicare payments would shock Madoff.
What passes for a joke on Capitol Hill these days is that Bernie Madoff, given his experience managing Ponzi schemes, should be put in charge of the federal budget. Nancy Pelosi & Co. seem to have taken it as a serious suggestion.
Any day now, the House is expected to vote on a $210 billion fiscal swindle that will prevent automatic cuts in Medicare payments to doctors. The entitlement's price controls are scheduled to fall by 21.5% in January and another 2% every year after that under a formula known as the sustainable growth rate, and eliminating the SGR was the price the American Medical Association demanded in return for its endorsement of the House health-care bill that passed earlier this month.
The "doc fix" was originally part of ObamaCare, until Mrs. Pelosi realized that adding a quarter-trillion dollars to the total tab made it difficult to pretend the bill would reduce the deficit. In the "Fiscal Responsibility" section of the press release announcing the separate SGR package, Democrats insist that it will be subject to "the 'pay as you go' principle of budget discipline," which "requires Congress to find a way to pay for any new spending" with new taxes or cuts.
The Comedy Central punchline: "A previous Congress established the policy for paying Medicare doctors, so the update for 2010 is not a new policy to be paid for. . . . The Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act would not increase total payments to physicians above what they are today and therefore, would not be subject to the paygo requirement." In other words, under the Madoff school of accounting, Democrats rely on straight deficit spending.
...President Obama's continued promises that he won't sign a health bill that increases the deficit is by now indefensible.
Rest of the article here:
House to Vote on Doc Fix - WSJ.com
