White House, Democrats seek support for health care bill
WASHINGTON — In the war over health care, the White House and congressional Democrats have the nation’s drug makers and hospitals generally on their side; the insurance industry, not so much.
Now the bill’s supporters are looking to lock in the American Medical Association. The principal enticement, a $247 billion measure on its way to the Senate floor, aims to wipe out a 21 percent rate cut for doctors treating Medicare patients and replace it with a permanent system for future fee increases.
The AMA began airing ads last week saying the increase would “protect seniors’ access to quality care.” A late 2008 study by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission found that nearly 30 percent of Medicare patients looking for a new primary care doctor had trouble finding one.
Yet the AMA won’t yet pledge support for the major health care bill that is the chief objective of the White House and congressional Democrats, despite a request that several officials say was made at a meeting last week with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
