WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Deals made to win U.S. Senate votes for the healthcare bill remain alive despite voter anger over the tit-for-tat bargaining surrounding passage, sources say.
Voter were alienated by deals cut with Nebraska and Louisiana to provide Medicaid expansion funds and by a flurry of last-minute deals by Senate and House members trying to tailor the bill to their specific needs, Politico reported Thursday.
Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., has abandoned his deal to have the federal government pick up his state's share of the expansion, but a similar arrangement to give Louisiana $300 million, three times as much as Nelson's agreement, remains in place, Politico said.
Politicians say they are attuned to voters' anger.
"It is very clear from the process that took place in the final days of the bill that Americans are disturbed about the process," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. "I believe it would be important for us to take out the egregious items."
But Kerry says funds allocated to Massachusetts are legitimate because his state already spent considerable amounts to expand Medicaid coverage.
"I don't think adjusting for Medicaid costs for states that have already done some things is inappropriate," Kerry said. "I'm not for a single-state fix. I'm for every state in the country that has taken action, to have that reflected somehow, and that should be part of the fix."
