Dingell tells doctors health care law needs fix His rival for U.S. House seat says fresh ideas are needed By Nathan Hurst Detroit News Washington Bureau Washington -- Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, told the American College of Cardiologists on Monday that he wants to make fixes to the health care law passed earlier this year. One cardiologist in particular was listening with keen interest: Dr. Rob Steele, the Ann Arbor physician who's challenging the dean of the U.S. House for his 15th District seat. Dingell told the heart doctors he wants to fix the sustainable growth rate, which determines how much doctors get for treating Medicare patients based on growth in health care costs and the overall economy. Health care costs have outpaced the economy since 2001, requiring a slew of temporary fixes for the formula. 'We can no longer kick the can down the road,' Dingell said. 'That is fiscally irresponsible.' Dingell also said it was time to 'dust off' a failed 2005 bill he authored to 'weed out frivolous lawsuits' and bring down the cost of medical malpractice insurance for doctors. Dingell, who's spent much of his 55-year congressional career championing health care reform , received a warm welcome from the cardiologists. Steele, who watched from the rear of the grand ballroom at Washington's Fairmont Hotel, didn't have a heart-to-heart with his rival. But he did have fighting words for Dingell, saying that while he respected the Democrat's long tenure in Congress' lower chamber, voters wanted 'fresh ideas.' 'Career politicians have no reward based on fixing problems,' Steele told The Detroit News in an interview after Dingell spoke. Sporting a 'Steele for Congress' sticker on his jacket, the Republican candidate -- who attended his first political convention just three weeks ago -- made the rounds with his fellow cardiologists before taking off on a bus to Capitol Hill, where he and the other heart doctors lobbied House and Senate members on health care policy. While the association's conference was slated to wrap up Tuesday, Steele said he's be staying in the nation's capital until early tomorrow, using the extra time to see Republican Party leaders, fundraisers and operatives. 'I've got a lot of people to meet,' Steele said. 'So far, it's been a great experience.' 