The decision to negotiate a $200 billion deal with Democrats to fix Medicare payments to doctors has left some House conservatives pretty worked up. They are saying the effort, backed by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), shouldn’t have been considered without the input of rank-and-file members.
The deal under consideration would repeal what’s known as the sustainable growth rate (SGR), which accounts for payments to doctors under Medicare. The deal’s overall costs would end up including an extension of a children’s health program that is set to expire this year.
The Hill reported on some of the not-so-happy talk that’s going around.
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“[Boehner] didn’t come to us and say, ‘How do we fix the “doc fix” working with Mitch McConnell?’ He went to Nancy Pelosi,” Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.), a frequent critic of Boehner, told reporters Tuesday.
Huelskamp said he heard from both Boehner and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan that they hope to use the legislation to “jam the Senate” — with the help of Pelosi.
“‘We’re going to jam the Senate. Nancy Pelosi’s going to help us jam the Senate.’ That’s what [Ryan] said and that’s what the Speaker said this morning,” he said. “But no, it’s to jam the House Republican conservatives.”
Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) said he would have supported an effort to repeal the SGR, but it would end up driving up federal spending, which is poorly timed with the House Republicans’ promise to balance the budget within the next ten years, The Hill reported.
“That seems incongruous to me,” he said during a “Conversations with Conservatives” panel on Tuesday. He added, “Right now, I’m not very excited about the bill.”