07.15.08
SENATOR MURKOWSKI LAUDS VETO OVERRIDE OF MEDICARE BILL
Contact - Mike Brumas at 202.224.9301 or Anne Johnson at 202.224.8069
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today voted to override President Bush’s veto of the Medicare Improvement for Patients and Providers Act. The legislation, which became law after the Senate’s override, blocks a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare provider reimbursement rates and provides a permanent 35 percent increase in Medicare reimbursement rates for Alaska’s physicians.
“Senator Stevens and I worked hard to get the Alaska reimbursement fix included in the legislation, which provides for a permanent 35 percent increase in Medicare reimbursement rates for Alaska’s medical providers,” Murkowski said. “This will bring the Alaska Medicare and Medicaid rates to the same level, and will significantly increase access to primary care providers for all of Alaska’s Medicare beneficiaries. I am pleased this legislation has now become law. Alaska’s higher costs of practicing medicine made this fix critically important for patients and providers in our state. I am proud to have played a part in passage of this crucial legislation.”
