国际英语新闻：Obama blames Republicans for pay cut risk to doctors

WASHINGTON, June 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama called on Senate Republicans Saturday to stop blocking a vote that would prevent a 21 percent pay cut for doctors.

More than a decade ago, Congress set up a formula that governs how doctors are paid by the Medicare program. Intended to slow the growth of Medicare costs, the formula says Medicare reimbursements for doctors will be cut automatically each year unless Congress votes to prevent it.

"Since 2003, Congress has acted to prevent these pay cuts from going into effect. These votes were largely bipartisan, and they succeeded when Democrats ran Congress and when Republicans ran Congress -- which was most of the time," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. "But this time, some Senate Republicans may even block a vote on this issue."

U.S. President Barack Obama

"If they don't act, doctors will see a 21 percent cut in their Medicare payments this week. This week, doctors will start receiving these lower reimbursements from the Medicare program. That could lead them to stop participating in the Medicare program. And that could lead seniors to lose their doctors."

Addressing Republicans' concerns about the ballooning federal deficit, Obama said he was committed to "permanently reforming this Medicare formula in a way that balances fiscal responsibility with the responsibility we have to doctors and seniors."

"We're already taking significant steps to slow the growth of Medicare costs through health insurance reform -- not by targeting doctors and seniors, but by eliminating 50 percent of the waste, fraud, and abuse in the system by 2012," the president said, referring to the new healthcare bill he signed into law earlier this year.

In the weekly Republican address, House minority leader John Boehner accused Obama of having "spent taxpayer dollars with reckless abandon, refusing to make tough choices and pushing the burden on to future generations."

Saying it's time to "start reining in Washington's out-of-control spending spree," Boehner said the solution should be "less spending, more jobs -- it's that simple."