CNN is reporting that both houses of Congress have overridden President Bush's veto, and, therefore, have halted planned cuts in Medicare payments to doctors.
The Senate voted 70-26 and the House of Representatives voted 383-41 to override the veto. Each chamber needs a two-thirds majority to pass a law over the president's objections.
The result of Congress' vote is the halting of a 10.6% cut in Medicare payments to doctors. This cut in payments was a part of a cost saving formula. The money to resume the payments will now be taken from the Medicare Advantage Program which aids in funding private insurers who cover senior citizens who cannot afford medical treatment through conventional means.
As social workers, Medicare is certainly a program that affects a lot of our clients. So, it would seem that the long and short of what happened with overriding the President's veto is that we are taking money from a fund that benefits seniors who can't afford medical treatment and giving it to the doctors who treat them.
I can definitely see both sides to this issue . . . Actually, this would make for a great debate.
Let me know what y'all think?
