Murfeesboro Democrat Bart Gordon helped House leaders overcome an impasse on a health care overhaul plan, but the agreement has failed to convince other Tennessee Democrats to sign on.
Supporters claim the compromise strips more than one hundred billion dollars from the bill, while also sheltering many small businesses from new mandates.
But the deal has angered progressives. They say the public insurance plan should be linked to Medicare reimbursement rates, not negotiated by a health secretary.
Gordon says Medicare rates are too low for rural areas.
“It’s going to make sure that physicians in rural areas and small towns, don’t walk away, and else where, walk away from the program. Where right now we have a situation where many physicians will not take any more Medicare patients because of the low reimbursement, so we don’t want to exacerbate that.”
The compromise has also failed to gain the support of West Tennessee Democrat John Tanner. He says he still isn’t sure the bill does enough to keep costs down.
“Best thing the Blue Dogs did was to stop any floor vote until we could get home and people have a chance to digest and understand it. I’ve read the bill. It’s one thing to read it; it’s another thing to know what the implications are.”
It is unclear when the Congressional Budget Office will release a preliminary cost estimate.
Reported by Matt Laslo.
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