Posted on 04/14/2015 7:06:20 PM PDT by Star Traveler
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday approved sweeping changes in the way Medicare pays doctors, clearing the bill for President Obama and resolving an issue that has bedeviled Congress and the Medicare program for more than a decade.
The 92-to-8 vote in the Senate, following passage in the House last month by an overwhelming vote of 392 to 37, was a major success for Republicans, who devised a solution to a complex policy problem that had frustrated lawmakers of both parties. Mr. Obama has endorsed the bill, saying it “could help slow health care cost growth.”
The bill, drafted in the House in negotiations between Speaker John A. Boehner and Representative Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader, also extends the Children’s Health Insurance Program for two years, through 2017.
Without action by Congress, doctors would have faced a 21 percent cut in Medicare fees on Wednesday or Thursday. Senate leaders cleared the way for final passage by allowing votes on several amendments sought by liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
You would think they would be able to figure out a solution in less than a decade.
There were going to be some awfully mad Seniors if that 21% cut went into effect ... :-) ...
Presidential candidates on the bill ...
Eight senators opposed the bill, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marco Rubio (R-Florida) who are both seeking the presidency in 2016. They were joined by Sens. Lee, David Perdue (R-Georgia), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala).
Sen. Pand Paul (R-Ky.), another 2016 candidate, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is also considering a run, voted to support the bill.
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/238871-senate-overwhelmingly-approves-house-doc-fix-bill
Are you supportive of the bill or do you think that it should have been voted down? Only curious. I am not sure really.
With a 98-2 approval, I’d bet there is something to appease everyone and give everyone cover, but if Obama is eager to sign it, it’s probably more bad than good.
This bill does nothing but maintain the status and keeps Obamacare on life support.
I HATE the Republican Party
it spends more money, increases the debt.
ergo, no veto
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I was definitely not for the 21% cut to doctors, which was to happen at midnight. Actually it “technically” went into effect on April 1, but Medicare was holding off carrying it through until tomorrow.
Now ... was that bill all I would want it to be or were there some things there that I wouldn’t want? No and yes, respectively. But, as they say about legislation and sausage ... you don’t want to see how it’s made ... LOL ...
Yon just never get everything ... :-) ...
The key for me was the exodus of doctors from the system if the 21% cut had been put into effect, because I already see on my Medicare how much Medicare already forces the doctors to “write off” on every single Medicare visit. I’m amazed that doctors even take these cuts as it is right now!
Perhaps. But I’m happy that Ted Cruz didn’t make the expedient vote, he voted the right way,
Well ... let’s say that I’m glad he didn’t prevail on his vote ... :-) ...
I’ve gotten around $35,000 of billable Medicare claims in the past 15 months, and I am already paying a good amount into three different plans on their premiums (Medicare, Supplemental and Prescription) ... so I don’t want doctors abandoning the Medicare system.
The solution includes raising Medicare Part B premiums on “wealthy” seniors.
Yes, Ted Cruz the true conservative wanted them to cut spending elsewhere to “pay” for this increased spending. But apparently even a $20 trillion national debt is not enough to get these people to cut any spending.
Before passing the bill, the Senate rejected a half-dozen proposed amendments on Tuesday night. Democrats, for example, wanted to provide more money for women’s health care. Republicans wanted to repeal a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires most Americans to have health insurance, and they tried to force Congress to pay for the Medicare bill so it would not increase budget deficits.
The current payment formula, set by Congress in 1997, links Medicare spending on doctors’ services to growth of the overall economy. Medicare spending has regularly exceeded the targets. Under the law, the excess is supposed to be recouped in subsequent years through cuts in payment rates for doctors.
The bill would repeal that formula. Fiscal conservatives object because only one-third of the cost would be offset. The rest, $141 billion from 2015 to 2025, would add to federal budget deficits.
“This bill is not paid for,” said Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama.
Well, I’m not in that wealthy category that was targeted, but I should be, just to be able to pay those $250 a month premiums (on all the parts) that I have ... :-) ...
Well ... that bill that was passed may not be paid for, but I’m sure paying through the nose every month for it all ... LOL ...
Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, said the bill “doubles down on Medicare’s broken price control model” and “inflates the administration’s power as regulator and compliance officer.”
Paul Spitalnic, the chief actuary of the Medicare program, said the bill could lead to “a payment reduction for most physicians” after 2025. “If not addressed by subsequent legislation,” he said, “we expect that access to and quality of physicians’ services would deteriorate over time for beneficiaries.”
It might be a problem after 2025 ... but I KNOW that it would be a problem TOMORROW with the 21% cut that was happening ... :-) ...
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