What's at Stake in the New Medicare Bill

Tuesday, first the House and then the Senate voted to override the presidential veto and approve a Medicare bill into law that reversed the imminent 10.6% cuts in the reimbursements to physicians.

Game over.

After the vote last weekAARP CEO Bill Novelli praised the Senate, saying the "AARP applauds the bipartisan majority of senators who voted to pass a bill that would protect and improve Medicare for the 44 million Americans who depend on it." They are now celebrating the victory.

However Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of the health insurers body America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), has a different perspective. She said: "As seniors learn the details of this hastily passed legislation, they will be shocked to learn they could face fewer choices, reduced benefits, and higher out-of-pocket costs."

In the Senate vote, 21 Republican senators defied the presidential veto, increasing the number of Republicans supporting the bill by three and embarrassing the president.

So, what is there in this law that is so controversial and reportedly -- depending on the perspective -- so hurtful to the elderly?

The main issue was to stop a cut in reimbursement of expenses to physicians. Cuts were mandated in 1997, and this is not the first time they have been overridden -- in fact, they are nearly always avoided by both Republican and Democratic legislators.

The difference this year is that the Democrats, in order to "pay" for the 10.6% reduction in Medicare expenses that they wanted to avoid, introduced a measure to cut the level of payments to Medicare Advantage plans (MA), a major part of Republican medical reform.

« Previous Page

1 2 3 4

Next Page »