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Senate slammed on Medicare vote
Reaction was sharp and bitter after the Senate fell one vote short late Thursday night of passing a bill that would have averted a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors slated to take effect Tuesday.
The final vote on a procedural move to proceed was 58-40 after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., switched his vote to preserve his parliamentary options. Sixty votes were needed.
Democrats blamed Republicans and President Bush, who had threatened to veto the bill. Republicans blamed Democrats. Doctors and advocates for the elderly tended to place most of the blame on the Republicans.
Reid said this about the Republicans after the vote: “Our seniors and the health-care providers who care for them have only Senate Republicans to blame when Medicare payments are cut and other key protections expire. The House overwhelmingly passed a good bill in bipartisan fashion that ensures Medicare works better for every American senior and saves taxpayers billions of dollars - but Senate Republicans insist on standing with President Bush to protect insurance companies at the expense of patients and providers. This is nothing short of putting politics above the seniors and people with disabilities who depend on Medicare.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee on Finance, said Democrats were to blame.
“The Senate leader’s take-it-or-leave-it approach and on-the-floor election-year calculations hurt doctors and seniors,” Grassley said. “It’s past time for the Senate to act responsibly and work out a bipartisan bill to avert an unfair cut in the reimbursement rate for doctors who treat Medicare patients.”
Here’s the irony: both Republicans and Democrats wanted to avert the paycut, but despite having six months to work something out they couldn’t reach an agreement on how to pay for it. Democrats wanted to take much of the money out of payments to private managed care plans; Republicans didn’t.
Dr. Nancy H. Nielsen, president of the American Medical Association , said doctors “are outraged that a group of Republican senators followed the direction of the Bush administration and voted to protect health insurance companies at the expense of America’s seniors, disabled and military families.
“These senators leave for their 4th of July picnics knowing that the most vulnerable Americans are at risk because of the Senate’s inability to act to stop drastic payment cuts for health care services that are needed by our Medicare and TRICARE patients.”
Judith Stein, executive director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, said: “We are saddened that the misplaced priorities of some senators prevented a bill with overwhelming bi-partisan support in the House from coming to the floor of the Senate.
“As we approach Independence Day and celebrate American values, we need to remember our commitment to those who came before us and question the priorities of those who put the interests of insurance companies over the interests of Medicare beneficiaries. Once again we call on senators to pass effective Medicare legislation. It’s time to support people with Medicare and physicians over private plan profits.”
Robert M. Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights Center, said: “The 39 Republican senators who lined up behind President Bush to oppose this sensible and humane bill are agents of harm to older Americans. People with Medicare, as well as the doctors who care for them, should know that and tell them that as they go home for their July 4th recess. The vote shows a callous disregard for the older adults and people with disabilities in their states and a craven submission to the insurance industry.”
Barbara B. Kennelly, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare said: “Once again we’ve seen the profits of the insurance industry take precedence over a call for help from America’s seniors and their doctors.
“Instead of approving important beneficiary improvements for the more than 44 million seniors and people with disabilities served by Medicare, a minority in the Senate once again blocked action on legislation that would have begun to reduce the overpayment of billions of tax payer dollars to Medicare Advantage insurers.”
Comments
By Mike Muoio
June 27, 2008 4:47 PM | Link to this
These guys never cease to amaze! Bush and Cheney should resign today and save all of us from 7 more months of pain. There, I feel better already! Pass it on we may get something started here——-mike
By PP
June 27, 2008 7:18 PM | Link to this
If you are a doctor and you are outraged then you should look at the math. Medicare Advantage Insurance companies get paid 13-17% more per medicare beneficiary and pay out 20-30% less to doctors. That is approximately 35% going into the insurance companies pocket. Why accept medicare advantage? The insurance companies are happy to enroll doctors in their Medicare Advantage plans, doctors by default are enrolled, they send you a letter stating that you are enrolled and you have to opt out. Why not opt out? If every physician in the country opted out of the medicare advantage plan then that would do an end run on bush and his cronies. If you care then opt out of Medicare Advantage, I know we will.