On the eve of the Senate Finance Committee's big health care debate, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson is weighing in with 14 amendments to tweak the bill. (Altogether, the 23 senators on the panel have offered more than 500 amendments.) One of Nelson's amendments is aimed at preventing cuts to people currently enrolled in the Medicare Advantage program and would eliminate "excessive reimbursements" for Medicare Advantage insurers. "It’s the right thing to do for taxpayers in the long-term," Nelson said. "And it’s the fair thing to do short-term for the seniors."
Nelson has come under criticism in some quarters for not weighing in more forcefully on the issue.
But a press release from his office notes his Medicare Advantage amendment "took center stage in the debate" when "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos asked President Barack Obama whether he supported a Nelson amendment aimed at preventing cuts to seniors on Medicare.
"I’m not going to be negotiating particular provisions of the bill sitting down with you here right now," said Obama, who noted that the Medicare Advantage program is "essentially private HMOs who are getting, on average — and this is not my estimate, this is Democrats and Republicans, experts have said — they're getting, on average, about 14 percent more over-payments, basically subsidies from taxpayers, for a program that ordinary Medicare does just as good, if not better, at keeping people healthy. "
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