By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
LANSING, MI –
Governor Granholm's budget proposal for the coming year includes a tax on physicians' services to cover holes in Medicaid. And she says she wants it approved by lawmakers before July.
The physicians' tax has been unpopular in Lansing and was booted out of the state capital by a large group of protesting doctors last year.
Republican state Senator Roger Kahn says without the support of the medical community, the governor's plan is left with a $200 million shortfall.
"If there's a 200 million dollar hole in that budget, how am I supposed to get it passed by July 1 without it creating some sort of political firestorm?" he asks.
Some Republican lawmakers were worried about the taxes and fees proposed by Governor Granholm in her budget proposal. But some Democrats argued that Granholm did not go far enough, and should have raised more revenue in her plan.