Congress Overrides Bush Veto of Medicare Bill
Wednesday, 16. July 2008
On Tuesday, as expected, President Bush vetoed the Medicare Bill (H.R. 6331) which was passed by the Senate last week by a margin of 69-30. The bill originated in the House and passed there by an overwhelming 355-59 majority.
Just hours after Bush vetoed the legislation, the Senate voted 70-26 to overturn him, following the House of Representatives, which voted 383-41 to override. The bill now becomes law.
See how your Senators and Representatives voted.
Although mostly seen as a big win for physicians, since the bill prevents a 10.6 drop in Medicare reimbursement, this also means that the Competitive Bidding Demonstration Project, which was scheduled to begin earlier this year, and has been on hold since a ruling by a judge this spring, will now be halted. Unknown at this time is what will happen with the sealed bids that CMS had obtained as part of the requried bidding process.
Related articles:
Congress Overrides Bush’s Veto on Medicare – The New York Times