CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE
June 26, 2008 – 1:44 p.m.
With Medicare Deadline Looming, Reid Threatens Weekend Session
Aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned senators Thursday to be ready to cancel weekend travel plans, in anticipation that procedural maneuvering on a Medicare bill might drag on into the Fourth of July recess.
The warning came after Reid, D-Nev., failed to obtain unanimous consent to call up and clear a House-passed bill that would block a 10 percent cut in Medicare physician payment rates scheduled to take effect July 1.
Although the White House has a veto threat against the bill, the House passed the measure two days ago by 355-59, comfortably more than the two-thirds majority needed to overcome a presidential veto.
The Senate on June 12 fell six votes short of the 60 votes needed to limit debate on a similar measure. But Democrats were emboldened by the huge, bipartisan House vote on the new version. They want to take another shot at sending the legislation to the president, who objects to provisions to pare federal payments to private Medicare Advantage plans in order to offset the cost of blocking the doctor rate cuts.
Sen. Judd Gregg , R-N.H., objected to Reid’s effort, proposing instead to avert the looming July 1 cuts by passing a 30-day extension of current physician payment rates. Reid objected.
Earlier this week, it appeared that Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus , D-Mont., and ranking panel Republican Charles E. Grassley of Iowa had reached a deal on an alternative to the House-passed bill that would scrap the offsets the White House dislikes. But even if their tentative pact held, there may not be enough time to get it through the Senate, let alone both chambers, before the July Fourth break. That could ultimately prompt Reid to accept Gregg’s plan for a 30-day extension of current doctor payment rates.
Comments
It doesn't matter anymore. I hope that I can find another job to pay off my medical school debt and leave medicine all together. Forget getting a house, getting married, etc. I'll just restart my adult life nearly 7 years later.
This is just another example of how the Bush administration is slowly undermining every social safety net for blue ollar Americans in an effort to create a police state - a New World Order. Please do an Internet search for "Bilderberg." What you find will put much of what you see going on in the Bush administration into context.
40 senators and 1 president are putting 41 million Medicare recipients at risk of losing. Losing medical access. Losing choice of physicians. Losing their primary care doctor. Loss is well known to Medicare recipients. They have lost friends to death, they have lost health to aging or illness, and many have lost their independence. It is time to show respect to our aging population, after all, they gave us life.
It is truly ashame that the people we have put into decision making positions cannot figure out a way to better serve our seniors. People that have fought and worked all thier lives believing medicare would be there for them will now be left without physicians to care for them. Continual rate cuts to medicare will continure to erode the quality of care that is available to seniors. This I say is unacceptable. If we do not have law makers that will stand up for us, then perhaps we should vote them ALL out and start over.
It is a shame that the President's only concern is to make the rich wealthier. It is also a shame that this Administration is so wedded to such a flawed and failed policy, such as Medicare managed care. Anyone that knows anything about Medicare understands that managed care does not work for the elderly. As a result of this policy, insurance companies have been able to set the rules, by first pulling out of Medicare when their profit margin was cut under the previous Medicare Plus Choice program, and then to threaten to pull out of Medicare again if this newer version of the gravy train dries up. Does this Administration actually think that they can get insurance companies so dependant on taking care of a the elderly that they couldn't pull out of Medicare, thus allowing the feds to start running the show? Such Naiveté............
I am ready to limit Medicare now. I am sad about it but we cannot continue this any longer. The govt wants physicians to spend tons of money on electronic records which will increase overhead substantailly yet they continue to cut our fees. I say to hell with them. Sorry to the patients - you are the voters -- we cannot organize -- so you will have to call your politicians and get them to fix it. The ball is in the court of the people. Stand up and be heard.
It is an outrage that so many Senators and the President continue to be primarily concerned with ensuring profits for large managed care companies while denying care to their elderly constituents. The mission statement of managed care companies is to make money for their shareholders which is in direct conflict with providing care for their clients Many seniors have been duped into signing up with these companies, not understanding the consequences until it is too late. Shame on the Senators who voted no in order to protect these companies' profits. Perhaps you are not concerned because our society provides at least you with excellent health benefits for life. How sad that you take advantage of this for yourselves and do not ensure it for the people for whom you supposedly work I promise you, health is the great equalizer in this world -- watch your karma
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