Topeka ? Republican Sen. Pat Roberts is working with a Democratic colleague to block some of President Bush’s budget proposals for social services, suggesting those recommendations could amount to “rationing health care.”

The Kansas senator said Monday that he doubts Bush’s proposals enjoy much support, so he would like Congress to avoid a lengthy back-and-forth before providing additional funds for the Medicare and Medicaid programs. He’s most concerned about payments to hospitals that provide services to the programs’ participants.

Bush’s proposals are designed to save $76 billion over five years in Medicare, the program that provides medical services for the elderly. They also would trim $25 billion from Medicaid, the medical program for the needy. They’ve already received strong criticism from Democrats.

Roberts was in Topeka to discuss health care issues with the chief executive officers of 15 northeast Kansas hospitals. His visit was among a week’s worth of events scheduled statewide.

He and Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., are drafting a letter to the White House and the chairman and ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, asking them to protect hospital payments.

“Health care programs are under a lot of pressure,” Roberts said after meeting with the hospital CEOs. “What we end up doing is basically rationing health care, and that’s not right.”

Roberts’ return home also comes the week after the House’s approval of a nonbinding resolution opposing Bush’s decision to increase troop strength in Iraq by 21,500 soldiers. Senators are still battling over whether they’ll consider only Democratic leaders’ proposed resolution condemning the troop surge or Republican alternatives.

As for passing a resolution supporting the troops but opposing the surge, Roberts said, “That’s rather remarkable in terms of the mixed message that it sends.”

He also said he wants to give the new top commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, a chance to determine whether American and allied forces are making progress in quelling sectarian violence.

Roberts said he anticipates 20 to 30 senators will sign his letter to the White House and the Budget Committee leaders. He said he doesn’t want the debate this year to follow the pattern of previous budget debates.

“We usually discuss this for a full year in a session of Congress, and then we come up with an emergency supplemental,” he said. “My goal will try to be to not go through that and to restore the funding.”