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UPDATE: Democrats challenge authenticity of ?doc fix? memo - Live Pulse - POLITICO.com
So here we have a memo directly from the Democrats where they admit that they've removed the $371,000,000,000 Doctor fix from their health care bill because it would mean that their total reform would add hundreds of billions to the deficit. How exactly do you spin that? Wait, I know:
You ignore any attempts to actually discuss the specifics or details and instead just stubbornly repeat your 5-second soundbyte.
That's really, really, really bad if true.
edit: The Dems have since challenged the authenticity of the memo.
Democrats are planning to introduce legislation later this spring that would permanently repeal annual Medicare cuts to doctors, but are warning lawmakers not to talk about it for fear that it will complicate their push to pass comprehensive health reform. The plans undercut the party's message that reform lowers the deficit, according to a memo obtained by POLITICO.
Democrats removed the so-called doc fix from the reform legislation last year because its $371-billion price tag would have made it impossible for Democrats to claim that their bill reduces the deficit. Republicans have argued for months that by stripping the doc fix from the bill, Democrats were playing a shell game.
“Most health staff are already aware that our health proposal does not contain a 'doc fix.' … The inclusion of a full SGR repeal would undermine reform’s budget neutrality. So again, do not allow yourself (or your boss) to get into a discussion of the details of CBO scores and textual narrative. Instead, focus only on the deficit reduction and number of Americans covered,” the memo, sent Thursday to Democratic staff, said.
...
The memo helps explains why the American Medical Association has supported reform even though their top legislative priority, the doc fix, was left out. The group is working behind the scenes with Democratic leadership and the White House to fix the cuts later this year.
So here we have a memo directly from the Democrats where they admit that they've removed the $371,000,000,000 Doctor fix from their health care bill because it would mean that their total reform would add hundreds of billions to the deficit. How exactly do you spin that? Wait, I know:
The memo also repeatedly advises Democrats not to discuss the details of the CBO score. “We cannot emphasize this enough: do not allow yourself (or your boss) to get into a discussion of the details of CBO scores and textual narrative. Instead, focus only on the deficit reduction and number of Americans covered," the memo says.
You ignore any attempts to actually discuss the specifics or details and instead just stubbornly repeat your 5-second soundbyte.
That's really, really, really bad if true.
edit: The Dems have since challenged the authenticity of the memo.