Senate approves sweeping Medicare bill

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

The Senate has voted 54-44 in favor of far-reaching changes to Medicare, including a prescription drug benefit for 40 million seniors and disabled Americans.

AP/Yahoo!, Nov. 25, 2003

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=534&ncid=534&e=2&u=/ap/20031125/ap_on_go_co/medicare

From PSNA Email Alert:

The U.S. Senate this morning passed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. The vote was 54 to 44. The legislation now goes to President Bush, who has said he will sign it into law. AHA applauded congressional leadership on the issue.

"The Senate made history by helping seniors gain access to affordable prescription drugs, while giving hospitals the resources needed to help them keep their promises of care," said AHA Executive Vice President Rick Pollack. "The bill helps America's teaching hospitals continue training tomorrow's caregivers by restoring needed funding. Today, more than six out of 10 rural hospitals can't make ends meet caring for seniors. This legislation maintains and strengthens much needed payments to rural hospitals. It also protects vital community services, from trauma to neonatal care, by placing restrictions on the development of specialty providers. The legislation also offers relief for hospitals treating large numbers of Medicaid and uninsured patients through the Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital program."

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N-STAT UPDATE: HOUSE AND SENATE PASS FLAWED MEDICARE BILL-- LEARN HOW YOUR MEMBERS VOTED!

On November 22 and 25 respectively, the House (210-205) and Senate (55-44) passed the ANA-opposed conference agreement on Medicare prescription drugs and Medicare reform. Thanks to all who contacted their members of Congress to share ANA's opposition and your concerns about the agreement. Your calls and e-mails did make a difference. The House vote was much closer than expected, with a majority of House members in opposition to the agreement throughout the majority of the unprecedented three hour Roll Call vote. Many members of Congress have told us that the comments of nurses in their district played a significant role in their decision to oppose the agreement.

Although there are some provisions in the bill that ANA supports (such as increases in the physician fee schedule, the extension of needlestick protections for public hospitals, and increased payments for rural hospitals), ANA refused to allow these separate reimbursement issues to sway our support for an inadequate benefit and joined a number of health care consumer groups including Families USA, the American Public Health Association, and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare in opposing the agreement as a whole. Visit the House and Senate Approve Flawed Medicare Bills page on our site for more background on ANA/s position and concerns.

While ANA is disappointed with many aspects of the agreement, we hope to work with Members of Congress in 2004 and during the upcoming 109th Session of Congress to ensure the strength and reliability of the Medicare program and to work toward the provision of a truly meaningful prescription drug benefit.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Find out how your Members of Congress voted--the House vote andSenate votes are both posted on the

Vote Scorecard

section of this website. If your member voted in opposition to the bill, contact them to thank them for their support. If they supported the agreement, contact them to share your disappointment and ask them to work to address the flaws in the bill.

You can reach your members of Congress through the Capitol Switchboard (202/224-3121) or by using the "write a message" at the bottom of the House and Senate Approve Flawed Medicare Bills web page.

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[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

My beiggest complaint about this bill is it touts drug benefits and new insurance companies............well they alkready did that with disasterous results in Philadelphia Market!!!!!!!!!!!!

6 years ago when Medicare HMO's came about, even my local hospital system delevoped an HMO with drug benefits.

Many seniors joined---well the one hospital plan closed after four years, the 2 big insurance plans IBC Blue Cross and Aetna Golden Medicare eliminted drug coverage two years ago. 'Too costly"

Aetna jacked up deductibles to docs and hospitals and started a $20.00 COPAY per day for homecare services 1/1/03. Guess who now has added homceare copay---IBC's KeyCare plan effective 1/1/2004.

DAILY I call homecare paitients to inform them of their copay--1 out of 5 refuses homecare, several rehospitalized. Patients are choosing between meds, food or homecare. If one remains with traditional MC plan, there is NO copay for homecare, but 20% deductible ffor Durable Medical Equipment and doctor office visits--which can be covered by another medigap plan.

Guess which plan is in the patients best interest if they have a chronic condition???

From what I have read, don't believe this will help anyone but business.

[Geeg]

This is just another FREE LUNCH for drug and insurance companies!!!!

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

The insurance companies are the very people we need to get OUT of the healthcare "business", what with all their paperwork and administrative overhead, not to mention their multi-millionaire CEOs. Get rid of the waste created by these monoliths, and you'd better believe the cost of health care would drop dramatically......but no, Bush and his acolytes only took us a giant step in the WRONG direction!

Then again, what else can you expect from a president and an administration which so consistently work FOR big business and AGAINST middle-class Americans?

[Geeg]

Here is a scary piece of info: Did you know that senate majority leader Bill Frist's family owns (and made gazillions) HCA AKA Columbia.