Lansing (WWJ) -- The state Senate has voted to kill a proposed three percent tax on doctors that would have gone toward treatment for Medicaid patients.
WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick reports Republican Leader Mike Bishop allowed only one Democrat to speak on the bill and then they voted it down twice.
"This was a devastating blow to this legislation. The sponsor, Mickey Switalski, tells me it is now dead, although it could be resurrected, if you will, later on. But that's down the road." Skubick said.
Skubick reports Democrats are saying Bishop did this to take away from the Governor yet another option for raising revenue to balance the books. That way Bishop can maintain his no tax pledge to balance the budget on cuts alone.
Wednesday's 32-4 vote against the 3 percent gross receipts tax came after the Democratic-led House approved it earlier in the month.
Opponents, including the Michigan State Medical Society, say the tax would drive doctors out of the state and reduce access to health care. Supporters, including some physicians, say the tax would give doctors who see Medicaid patients higher reimbursement rates instead of the 8 percent cut contained in the current budget plan.
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