Budget chief: Docs fees not paid for in Obama bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - A senior administration official says billions of dollars to raise fees for doctors treating Medicare patients are not covered by President Barack Obama’s pledge to pay for health care legislation.

Budget Director Peter Orszag said Tuesday that’s because the administration always assumed the money would be spent to prevent a cut of more than 20 percent in doctor fees.

The Congressional Budget Office said last Friday the higher payments cost $245 billion over 10 years. It said including the money in the overall bill would result in deficits totaling $239 billion.

On Friday, a few hours earlier, the president declared: “I’ve said that health-insurance reform cannot add to our deficit over the next decade. And I mean it.”