Congress overturns president's veto; vital rural Medicare package becomes law
On the same day President Bush vetoed H.R. 6331, Congress overwhelmingly overrode that veto. The House of Representatives voted 383-41 to override the veto shortly before 5 p.m. A little more than an hour later, the Senate followed suit with a vote of 70-26. Both the House and Senate had more votes to override the veto than were originally cast to send the bill to the president.
The NRHA strongly supported passage of H.R. 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Providers and Patients Act of 2008. The legislation provides nearly $2 billion critical dollars to rural America and eliminates the pending 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians through December 2009. The cuts, required by law, took effect on July 1, and CMS was scheduled to begin mailing the reduced reimbursements to providers today. Based on previous conversations, we expect the administration to work with providers and Congress to make sure services rendered since July 1 receive the full payment rate.
"The final passage of the Medicare package is a significant victory for rural America. I thank each and every one of our members who took action to protect rural Medicare patients and providers," said Alan Morgan, CEO of the NRHA.
For more details of the important rural provisions in H.R. 6331 and for other details on the bill, visit our Medicare Package page.
