This bill passed both houses with enough votes to override President Bush's veto mere days ago.
Today it passed by an even larger margin: 383 - 41
Gene Taylor, Travis Childers, Bennie Thompson and Chip Pickering all voted for the bill.
He vetoed the bill, not because he thought it'd do any good, but because he just wanted to muck things up.
From a press release:
The House of Representatives overrode the President’s veto of legislation that would prevent reimbursement rate cuts for doctors who treat Medicare patients, Congressman Travis Childers (D-MS) announced today.
“There are 471,110 Medicare beneficiaries in Mississippi. This year, physicians and many specialists were faced with a scheduled 10.6 percent cut in their reimbursement rate for treating seniors covered by Medicare. Doctors who provide service for Medicare patients should not be at a financial disadvantage,” said Congressman Childers. “Insufficient reimbursement rates are a threat to the accessibility of care for senior citizens. I am proud to support important legislation to stop these rate cuts and ensure that Medicare patients receive the care they need.”
The Senate previously passed the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (H.R. 6331), which won House approval in June by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of 355-59. Congressman Childers voted for the original passage of the bill on June 24.
H.R. 6331 provides a payment freeze for medical caregivers in 2008, and 1.1 percent increase for 2009. The measure also calls for improvements and extensions of payments to doctors, ambulances, and small hospitals in rural areas.
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