Rep. Sanford Bishop: "The Health Reform Bill Needs Work"

Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Georgia), has signed onto a letter by the Blue Dog Coalition - a group of moderate and conservative Democrats in the U.S. House - to House Democratic leadership expressing "strong reservations" about the Democrats' health care plan.

The moderate-liberal Democrat said today that Congress was facing a "robust schedule that focused on issues vital to Americans." "These are perilous times for all Americans and we want to ensure that our citizens have access to a healthcare system that is affordable, deficit neutral, and driven by doctors, rather than insurance companies," Rep. Bishop said.

Rep. Bishop said one of the major issues for him and his Blue Dog cohorts is that healthcare legislation be in a pay-as-you-go format, rather than a mechanism for increasing the national debt. "Increasing our national debt further is something we're not open to," he said. "This system needs to be something that we can pay for, not something we pass along to future generations."

The Blue Dog Coalition said in the letter that "significant progress" had to be made on its concerns in order for its members to support the a final bill. The Blue Dogs say the current system must be examined for savings and maximizing the value of health care dollars spent before the government asks the public to pay more.

The group said it wanted to reiterate its position that the so-called "public option" be voluntary and that providers be fairly reimbursed at negotiated rates. "A 'Medicare-like' public option would negatively impact hospitals, doctors and patients," they wrote. "Using Medicare's below-market rate would seriously weaken the financial stability of our local hospitals and doctors."

Other concerns of the Blue Dogs include delivery system reform, protection for small businesses, and rural health care. The Blue Dogs say health care reform has to include Republicans' ideas as well. "The American public is looking for us to work together, regardless of party affiliation, to pass comprehensive health care reform," they wrote.