Mitch again joins the fringe minority on Medicare
Joe Sonka July 9th, 2008
(crossposted at Barefoot and Progressive)
As we all know by now, a couple weeks ago Mitch McConnell and his fringe minority in the Senate managed to block the “Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act”, which would prevent a 10.6% pay-cut to doctors. As Americans United for Change said- “A cut in payments could lead to doctors across the country refusing to see some of the 42 million seniors and people with disabilities who depend on these doctors and Medicare for their care and prescriptions. The Senate will re-vote on the same measure today, and if Senate Republicans once again stand in the way and the cuts go through, 60 percent of doctors will likely drop Medicare patients, according to the American Medical Association.”
Well, today they had the vote, and the overwhelming bi-partisan majority of 69 Senators voted to pass the bill.
Big surprise… Mitch was one of the fringe (attempted) obstructionists.
A pathetic man.
And just what would these pay cuts mean to us in Kentucky? According to those wacky America-hating Communists at the American Medical Association:
- Kentucky physicians will lose $190 million for the care of elderly and disabled patients over the 18 months from July 2008 through December 2009 due to a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments in July 2008 and an additional 5 percent cut in 2009. On average, each Kentucky physician faces a Medicare cut of $20,000 over this 18-month period. In addition, the state’s physicians will lose $3.7 billion for the care of elderly and disabled patients by 2016 due to nearly a decade of cuts for this important medical care.
- 41,528 employees, 655,883 Medicare patients and 159,979 TRICARE patients in Kentucky will be affected by these cuts.
- Compared to the rest of the country, Kentucky, at 16 percent, has an above-average proportion of Medicare patients and, at 23 percent, has one of the highest proportions of disabled beneficiaries of any state. In addition, at 14 practicing physicians per 1,000 beneficiaries, has a below-average ratio of physicians to Medicare beneficiaries, even before the cuts take effect.
- 42 percent of Kentucky’s practicing physicians are over 50, an age at which surveys have shown many physicians consider reducing their patient care activities.
- In July 2008, Kentucky physicians face cuts of an additional 1.8 percent on top of the 10.6 percent cuts across the country. The 2003 Medicare law provided a temporary increase in geographic payment adjustments for certain states. This increase also will expire on June 30, 2008 under current law.
But let’s be serious… does Mitch really care about all these Kentucky commoners getting the shaft? His insurance lobby buddies pay Mitch well, and he has his own Free Government Health Care.
Well, he has it for another 6 months.
- Mitch McConnell
- Comments(6)
Joe,
Great post. When Mitch voted against this bill he also voted against veterans.TRICARE (retired military and disabled veterans).
http://arkansasgopwing.blogspot.com/2008/07/today-in-washington-d-c-july-9-2008.html
Thank you Edward Kennedy!
Senate defies White House, passes Medicare bill
WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - A Medicare bill opposed by the White House won final congressional approval on Wednesday with the help of Sen. Edward Kennedy, who returned to the U.S. Capitol for the first time since brain surgery last month.
With Kennedy’s surprise appearance, he and fellow Democrats overcame a Republican procedural hurdle and passed the measure earlier approved by the House of Representatives.
The bill would cancel a scheduled 11 percent pay cut to doctors who treat Medicare patients. …………
After Kennedy cast his vote, some Republicans joined the winning effort in a politically popular bill that won wide support from both parties in the House last month.
The bill garnered a veto-proof majority of 69 in favor, with 30 opposed. Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, on the campaign trial for the presidency, was the sole member not voting.
Thanks for the great post Joe!!!
This is slightly off topic but Karl Rove has ignored a subpoena by the House Judiciary committee to testify about the firings of Federal Justices. A normal person would be arrested, but when you are trash that is high in the corrupt Republican Party evidently you are exempt from the law.
Weird!! I noticed on the public tv show last night named Comment on KY that McConnell had the lead in most polls.
I do not understand this!! Witness the vote on Medicare.
McConnell cares not for working Americans. McConnell cares not for the average Kentuckian. Why would anyone in KY support this idiot?? Is it lack of education?? Or, maybe just being uninformed?? Better WAKE UP, Ky voters. McConnell has done ENOUGH damage to our country. Flush this fool in Nov.
To William
I have lived in kentucky for five and a half years. I was born and raised in Kingsport, Tennessee. I have lived in San Antonio, Texas, Bossier City, Lousiana, Memphis, Tennessee, and Nashville, Tennessee. The people here seem to vote not on the issues but the way that their parents voted. In other words if your parents were Republican then you will also be a Republican or Democrat as the case may be. As more banks fail, and there are more layoffs and bankruptcies the opinion of the people in this state might change. The rural communities in Kentucky will always have a majority of Republicans because “my daddy told me to vote like that”. I don’t think that this is a very wise attitude. Also the ignorant Holy Rollers taint religion in this state and from their prospective Jesus was a Republican and people believe this. Just last Thursday snakes were seized and some of the snakes would be used in religious services. http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/459181.html
If the people get hungry and cold enough they might wake up and see what McConnell and his friends in the Senate are doing to them by the complete and systematic exportation of our economy (George Bush calls it “spreading freedom” or “creating trading partners” instead of screwing Americans). All I can say is wait and see in November. One thing that is really encouraging is the number of Republican Robots leaving negative, or threatening comments on this blog.