First Key Health Care Vote Saturday

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is making no promises ahead of a key procedural vote scheduled Saturday as Democrats look to move their health care reform bill forward.

With Republicans united in their opposition, Democrats need the
vote of every member of their caucus to reach the 60 votes needed, and a few Democrats have so far refused to commit.

The Congressional Budget Office says the $849 billion package
would provide coverage to 94 percent of the country while cutting the deficit by $130 billion in the first decade and more after that.

Reid's health care bill has millions of dollars to help Louisiana finance Medicaid at a time when he is hoping that state's wavering Democratic senator will support overhaul legislation.

The bill provides at least $100 million for Louisiana in extra
funds for Medicaid, the state-federal health program for the poor.

Louisiana's Democratic senator, Mary Landrieu, has said she is
undecided about the Democratic health care package. Reid needs the votes of all 60 Democratic senators for the Senate debate to begin.

Landrieu spokesman Aaron Saunders says the senator worked with Reid to get the Medicaid money into the bill, but remains undecided about whether she will vote to allow debate to start.

Meanwhile, republicans say a bill to prevent steep
Medicare payment cuts to doctors is little more than payback for
physicians supporting the health care overhaul.

The Democratic-controlled House voted Thursday to add more than $200 billion to the deficit to prevent the cuts.

Doctors are facing a 21 percent reduction in Medicare
reimbursement rates in January unless Congress acts first. It's the result of a flawed funding-formula that lawmakers have had to step in nearly annually to block in recent years.

The bill passed Thursday attempts a permanent fix by
restructuring the payments and making other changes.

Past votes on the issue have been largely bipartisan, but this
year the doctor payment issue has become a proxy for the larger health overhaul debate.