[Vision2020] Senate Approves Medicare Safeguard
Tom Hansen
thansen at moscow.com
Thu Jul 10 05:52:43 PDT 2008
>From today's (July 10, 2008) Spokesman Review -
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Senate approves Medicare safeguard
Backers attribute Kennedy's presence
WASHINGTON In a floor session highlighted by the appearance of Sen.
Edward Kennedy, the critically ill Massachusetts Democrat, the Senate
voted Wednesday to stave off a cut in Medicare fees to doctors who treat
seniors, military personnel and their families and others.
Kennedy, a longtime champion of the federal Medicare program who underwent
surgery for brain cancer in June, appeared halfway through the vote, to
tears and thunderous applause from fellow senators and spectators.
Moving carefully but steadily, his face slightly puffy, Kennedy held up
both thumbs, flashed a smile and roared his vote: "Aye."
Democrats credited Kennedy's appearance with their 69-30 victory in what
had been a bitterly partisan dispute. A Senate vote on an identical
measure failed by one vote in June.
"We got this victory because of Ted," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.,
chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "He made this happen."
The vote, coming on what Democrats had cast as a key election-year test,
sets the stage for a showdown with President Bush, who has promised to
veto the bill. But Senate leaders sounded confident. The bill passed the
House by a veto-proof 355-59.
The only senator to miss the vote was John McCain, who was campaigning in
Ohio.
Sen. Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat and presidential candidate who
accompanied Kennedy onto the Senate floor, supported the bill.
The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 would
halt a 10.6 percent cut in payments to physicians, scheduled to take
effect July 15, and instead institute a 1.1 percent payment increase in
2009. The bill also would improve preventive and mental health benefits.
Bush and many Republicans opposed the bill because the funds to prevent
Medicare reimbursement cuts would come from more than $12 billion set
aside as payments to private insurance companies that offer Medicare
Advantage.
The American Medical Association estimates that without the legislative
fix, 60 percent of U.S. doctors would be forced to limit the number of new
Medicare patients they treat.
Kennedy, 76, flew to Washington after his daily cancer treatment and
returned to Massachusetts immediately after the vote.
"I return to the Senate today to keep a promise to our senior citizens
and that's to protect Medicare," Kennedy said later in a statement. "Win,
lose or draw, I wanted to be here. I wasn't going to take the chance that
my vote could make the difference."
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How they voted:
Idaho:
Larry Craig (R) No
Mike Crapo (R) No
Washington:
Maria Cantwell (D) Yes
Patty Murray (D) Yes
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Seeya at Farmers' Market, Moscow.
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college
students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."
- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)
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