U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts spoke to employees Friday at Vangent, a government contractor servicing federal student loans and Medicare. While visiting Vangent, in the East Hills Business Park, Roberts, center, got some help from Vangent employee Melete Ghile, right, picking out cookies as part of the company’s 15th anniversary.

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts on Friday criticized the content of health reform legislation and the process used by Democrats in Congress to try to pass it.

“There’s a lot of minefields out there,” the Kansas Republican said in a brief interview after speaking to employees at Vangent Inc.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said he plans to get a health care reform bill teed up for debate next week on the Senate floor.

Reid has been putting together a bill from separate measures passed by the Senate committees on finance and health. Last week, the House passed its version of health reform.

Roberts accused Democratic leaders of “re-writing a bill behind closed doors.”

And, he said, one of his primary concerns with the legislation is what he calls “rationing of Medicare.”

Proposals to set up expert panels to determine the most effective of various treatments and procedures could “superimpose itself” on the relationship between doctors and patients, Roberts said.

Earlier, Roberts addressed a group of employees at Vangent in the East Hills business park in Lawrence. Vangent is a call-center with 1,300 employees that services several government agencies and programs, including Medicare.

“You are doing a great service for your fellow Americans,” Roberts said.

On hand at the event was Kerry Weems, who was the chief of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Bush. In September, he retired from the federal government and was named vice president of health strategy for Vangent.