On Tuesday the House overrode George Bush’s veto of a bill that stopped planned cuts in the Medicare reimbursement rate for doctors. It’s the fourth time Congress has voted to override Bush’s vetoes. This is the bill that just barely cleared the Senate because of Ted Kennedy’s return.
This diary by noweasels has the story and links to the roll-call votes, along with a lot of comments about how this law will affect people. TomP has some background on Medicare and how it was adopted.
The House vote was 383-41. In the Iowa delegation, Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack and Tom Latham voted yes on the override. Steve King voted no. Leonard Boswell was among the 11 representatives who missed the vote.
The Senate vote was 70-26, with Tom Harkin voting yes and Chuck Grassley voting no. Barack Obama and John McCain were among the four senators who missed the vote.
2 Comments
So Republican voted against something that would have increased rates for Doctors?
I know some Republicans that are in the Health Care profession that talk about how Medicare reimbursement is so bad, especially in Iowa, and how doctors can’t afford to see patients.
noneed4thneed Wed 16 Jul 11:58 AM
a lot has been written
about the American Medical Association souring on the GOP because of Republican opposition to this bill.
The bill doesn’t increase the reimbursement rates, but it does halt a planned cut in the reimbursement rates. A lot of doctors would have been out a lot of money.
desmoinesdem Wed 16 Jul 2:50 PM