mccollum072109
On the homepage
Crimefighting
Out There
Mental health
Health care
Home | Politically Connected | National Politics | In Congress
McCollum: Health care bill will pass in the House
But she and other Midwestern lawmakers seek a more equitable Medicare payment system.
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on DiggMore from In Congress
Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., said Monday she thinks the House will pass health-care reform this year, but that to get her vote, the bill must address inequities in the federal Medicare program that "penalize Minnesota and other high-quality, low-cost states.''
"I think we can get that. And I think we can get the bill passed fairly quickly in the House," McCollum said in St. Paul after taking testimony from 14 Minnesotans on health care reform.
A member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, McCollum also said she is hearing growing support for a controversial provision that would provide a government-run option to compete with private health insurers.
She said support is coming from both liberal advocates of a single-payer system and people who now have private insurance "who want a public option to fall back on" if their insurance plans or their own needs change.
"I wasn't hearing that a couple of months ago," she said.
McCollum conducted the St. Paul forum in a week when pressure is mounting on Democratic leaders in Congress to deliver health-care legislation. Some centrist Democrats have balked at the cost of the leading House bill, and President Obama said Friday he's counting on both houses of Congress to pass overhauls of the $2.3 trillion health care system that do not drive up the federal deficit.
The Congressional Budget Office has said the House bill could actually drive up health care costs, but McCollum said that analysis does not account for illness-prevention measures that would save billions of dollars.
Seeking Medicare changes
A group of 21 House Democrats from nine states convened by McCollum and Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., will meet today in Washington to talk strategy for getting the Medicare changes, she said.
"We have the attention of the House leadership. They know that to get the bill, they're going to have to bring fairness to Medicare reimbursement," she said.
Medicare, which covers 44 million elderly and disabled Americans, has payments that vary widely from state to state based on historic patterns of health care costs. Minnesota's rates are among the lowest, with an average of about $7,000 per beneficiary, compared with more than $16,000 in Miami.
Northern states make up most of the low-reimbursement areas and have tried for years to change the formula.
At the hearing Monday, representatives of three hospitals and the AARP in Minnesota urged McCollum to keep up pressure for Medicare changes.
However, doctors and hospitals are also suffering from even lower payments for patients covered by Medicaid, the state-federal health plan for the poor, said Alan Goldbloom, CEO of Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.
Medicaid payments, which accounted for 40 percent of Children's revenue last year, covered only 80 percent of the hospital's actual costs, he said.
"Medicare [payments are] generally 20 to 30 percent lower than private plans and Medicaid rates are 30 percent lower," said Goldbloom, who urged that health care reform include covering the full cost of care.
Warren Wolfe • 612-673-7253
Recent In Congress stories
Lawmakers call on Obama, Clinton to oppose UN report on alleged war crimes in Gaza - July 20, 2009
Lawmakers call on Obama, Clinton to oppose UN report on alleged war crimes in Gaza - The House on Tuesday condemned a U.N. report that accuses Israeli forces and Palestinian militants of war crimes in Gaza last winter as "irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy." More
- Health care bill clears Senate hurdle, 60-39
- Gaps for consumers in Democrat health care bills
- Sizing up the Kennedy dynasty's next generation
- Senate edges closer to health care debate
- Tears and fears flood Congress on health care
- Federal judge sues impeachment panel
- 1st Senate vote looms on health legislation
- Minn. delegation split on health care bill
The Whistleblower blog has moved
The Star Tribune is still blowing the whistle, but our look and location have changed. Click here to get to the new blog. If you want the actual URL, it’s www.startribune.com/blogs/whistleblower.html. Our blog posts will now be easier to search on the web site, but you’ll need to register to post a comment. In the [...]
Recent posts
  Open positions!A new career awaits. Look through thousands of listings to find your new job. Start now! No resume? No problem!Create a skills profile in minutes, let a recruiter match you to an open position. Click here to get started. |
Win tickets to The Midnight Movie Society's screening of "Clue" at Red Stag Supperclub.Vita.mn and DJ Jake Rudh present the first meeting of The Midnight Movie Society at Red Stag Supperclub on Dec. 4, with drinking, dancing and a midnight screening of cult-classic film, "Clue." |
Comment on this story | Read all 111 comments | Hide reader comments