Senate Votes Reversal of Cuts in Medicare Doctor Fees (Update1)
By Aliza Marcus
July 9 (Bloomberg) -- The Senate voted final passage of legislation that would halt a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements to doctors, as Senator Edward Kennedy returned to the Capitol for the first time since brain surgery for cancer.
Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, arrived to an ovation from colleagues and cast one of 69 votes to take up the measure, more than the two-thirds margin that would be required to override President George W. Bush's threatened veto of the legislation. All 30 votes in opposition came from Republicans.
Republicans and Democrats have been fighting over how to block the cut in fees that took effect July 1 for doctors who treat patients under Medicare, the U.S. health program for the elderly and disabled. Democrats say the money should come from reducing payments to private insurers that provide care through Medicare Advantage plans. Some Republicans objected, saying insurers would be forced to pare benefits to senior citizens.
Aides to Bush have said they would urge him to veto the measure, although the House passed it by a veto-proof margin last month.
The only member absent was Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. McCain, campaigning today in Ohio, said he would have voted against taking up the legislation. Spokesmen said this week that the measure had become a vehicle for ``partisan bickering.''
Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, voted to take up the Medicare measure.
``John McCain has said that he would have opposed this bill, demonstrating yet again that he's more than willing to put the interests of the health insurance industry over our nation's 44 million seniors and 9 million uniformed service members,'' Obama said in an e-mailed statement. Medicare payment rates also apply to the military's health program. |
