Warner: Cut spending on healthcare

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Moderate Democrats in Congress say if President Barack Obama's healthcare reform is to pass, it must cut the U.S. deficit by reining in costs.

Cutting Medicare and Medicaid costs would also give the president more freedom to spend on other priorities, The Washington Post reported Thursday. Those two programs, along with Social Security, are responsible for much of the deficit.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and other freshman Democrats urged colleagues last month to focus on government health costs.

"It's not good enough that it's just paid for; it actually has to start driving long-term costs down," Warner said.

Cutting healthcare costs is not likely to be easy. Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the House minority leader, issued an alert this week saying cuts in Medicare would mean "fewer choices and lower healthcare quality for our nation's seniors."

Polls show the public more concerned about federal spending as the deficit soars to a projected $1.8 trillion this year. A majority of those surveyed by Quinnipiac University in a recent poll said Obama should give up on healthcare reform if it is likely to increase spending.