The Medicare Doc Fix: Congress Actually Passes a Bill

      They say that even a busted clock is right twice a day, but today's House passes bills much less often that that. You can't totally blame them for taking victory laps-the House passes an important bill?! Greg Sargent, of course, right away throws cold water on the euphoria-Don't expect a trend he warns and he's right, of course, 

      Still, this is basically once in a lifetime:

     "A polar ice sheet lodged itself atop the entrance to Hell this afternoon, as the House of Representatives passed, by an overwhelming bipartisan margin of 392-37, a fix to the Medicare formula for reimbursing doctors, putting Congress on the brink of ending a saga that has been marked by punts and short term fixes for well over a decade. According to Sahil Kapur’s report from the House floor, the celebratory outbreak rivaled the victory parades that marked the end of World War II:

Everyone from Speaker John Boehner to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to their deputies and committee leaders and underlings sang the praises of a massive Medicare overhaulbill, giving the equivalent of Oscar acceptance speeches by effusively thanking their staff and colleagues for making it happen….

“Don’t look now,” said Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC), “but we are actually governing.”

     "Don’t expect it to last. While there’s been a lot of chatter about how the bipartisan deal on the Medicare “doc fix” could herald a new era in which John Boehner stiff-arms the right to make legislative compromises with Democrats, there are reasons to assume that there could still be plenty of chaos ahead."

     http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/03/26/dont-expect-a-new-kumbaya-era-in-congress/

     I agree that those who think this in anyway represents 'a new era' will be disappointed. Still, it's fitting if we are hearing WWII style speeches-it feels like Congress hasn't agreed on anything since WWII.  Sargent does acknowledge that on it's own this is a fine piece of legislation:

   "To be sure, the Medicare doc fix deal is an achievement. The liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorites and the Center for American Progress both endorsed the deal: It brings stability and certainty, the means for paying for it is acceptable (it’s mostly by raising premiums on very affluent beneficiaries), and it extends the Children’s Health Insurance Program and funding for community health centers."

    "Senate Democrats continue to block the compromise out of concerns over abortion language. But as Danny Vinik writes, it is a genuine compromise, and it’s probably only a matter of time until Senate Dems cave. After all, it has been endorsed by Nancy Pelosi and has now passed the House by overwhelming margins."

     Of course-when you talk about the Senate Dems, you're talking about reasonable people.