Medicare doc fix (S. 3101) update. Sen Smith is a YES

Not long after my last post I got my email edition of Medicare watch. Here is what they say on the state of the doc fix bill.

"S. 3101 is cosponsored by Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Finance Committee and Democrat of Montana, together with Senator John Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia; Senator Olympia Snowe, Republican of Maine; and Senator Gordon Smith, Republican of Iowa. But Democrats will need Republican support to get the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles and bring the bill to a vote.

Senate Republicans are crafting a competing Medicare package that does not include many of the improvements for people with Medicare. The improvements in the Democratic bill will cost about $4.5 billion over the next five years. The Bush administration has also threatened to veto S. 3101 if it includes any provisions that would limit the ability of insurance companies to market Medicare private health plans without establishing an adequate network of providers.

Both bills would avert a scheduled cut to Medicare reimbursement for doctors and substitute a small increase. "(MEDICARE WATCH, a biweekly electronic newsletter of the Medicare Rights Center Vol. 11, No. 12: June 10, 2008)

So Sen Smith is on board even though he was referred to as a Senator from Iowa. We still need him to do more to turn members of the Republican Caucus. A yes vote in the face of a veto does us no good. Keep up the calls for more action from Sen Smith.