Not all Dem governors for health reform - Washington Times

Not all Dem governors for health reform - Washington Times: "When the nation's 28 Democratic governors were asked to send a letter to congressional leaders last month expressing their support for health care reform, seven refused to sign the letter and even some who did complained that the pending reform plans could hit them with budget-busting expenses.

The big concern among the holdouts is that the health care overhaul will leave them on the hook to pay for expansions in Medicaid programs for the poor while Washington reaps the political credit.

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, one of those who declined to sign the letter, has been perhaps the party's sharpest critic in the funding debate, calling the potential expansion of Medicaid in health care reform 'the mother of all unfunded mandates.'

'We can't print money. We can't borrow money. A lot of staffers in Congress really don't understand this idea of a balanced budget,' Mr. Bredesen, a former HMO executive, told reporters in September.

Costs are also worrying moderate Democrats in the House, where party leaders Wednesday pushed for a quick debate and vote on the $1.2 trillion measure as soon as Saturday. Democrats were buoyed by reports that the giant seniors lobby AARP would endorse their bill Thursday.

The Senate remains a tougher call, with Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, hinting this week that Congress may miss President Obama's deadline for passage of a bill by the end of the year."