MGMA Washington Connexion 7/15: Act now! President vetoes Medicare physician payment bill

Today the president vetoed the Medicare Improvement Act for Patients and Providers (H.R. 6331). The House of Representatives must now schedule a new vote to override the veto, followed by a similar vote in the Senate. A two-thirds majority in each chamber must support a veto override for it to succeed.

Please use the grassroots hotline at 800.833.6354 to call Congress and urge lawmakers to immediately override the veto of H.R. 6331 to provide 18 months of positive Medicare payments to physicians and ensure that Medicare beneficiaries have access to quality care.

Please click the links below to see how your senators and representatives previously voted on this bill. If they voted "yea", thank them for their support of this important legislation and urge them to vote to override the presidential veto. If they voted "nay", urge them to reconsider their position and vote to override the veto.

This bill reverses the 10.6 percent cut to Medicare reimbursement that took effect July 1 and the projected 5.4 percent cut scheduled for 2009. It continues the 0.5 percent payment increase for 2008 and provides an additional 1.1 percent increase in 2009.