Mitch McConnell remains part of the fringe minority on Medicare

(crossposted at Ditch Mitch)

As we all know by now, a couple weeks ago Mitch McConnell and his fringe minority in the Senate managed to block the "Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act", which would prevent a 10.6% pay-cut to doctors. As Americans United for Change said- "A cut in payments could lead to doctors across the country refusing to see some of the 42 million seniors and people with disabilities who depend on these doctors and Medicare for their care and prescriptions. The Senate will re-vote on the same measure today, and if Senate Republicans once again stand in the way and the cuts go through, 60 percent of doctors will likely drop Medicare patients, according to the American Medical Association."

Well, today they had the vote, and the overwhelming bi-partisan majority of 69 Senators voted to pass the bill.

Big surprise... Mitch was one of the fringe (attempted) obstructionists.

A pathetic man.

And just what would these pay cuts mean to us in Kentucky? According to those wacky America-hating Communists at the American Medical Association:

• Kentucky physicians will lose $190 million for the care of elderly and disabled patients over the 18 months from July 2008 through December 2009 due to a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments in July 2008 and an additional 5 percent cut in 2009. On average, each Kentucky physician faces a Medicare cut of $20,000 over this 18-month period. In addition, the state’s physicians will lose $3.7 billion for the care of elderly and disabled patients by 2016 due to nearly a decade of cuts for this important medical care.

• 41,528 employees, 655,883 Medicare patients and 159,979 TRICARE patients in Kentucky will be affected by these cuts.

• Compared to the rest of the country, Kentucky, at 16 percent, has an above-average proportion of Medicare patients and, at 23 percent, has one of the highest proportions of disabled beneficiaries of any state. In addition, at 14 practicing physicians per 1,000 beneficiaries, has a below-average ratio of physicians to Medicare beneficiaries, even before the cuts take effect.

• 42 percent of Kentucky’s practicing physicians are over 50, an age at which surveys have shown many physicians consider reducing their patient care activities.

• In July 2008, Kentucky physicians face cuts of an additional 1.8 percent on top of the 10.6 percent cuts across the country. The 2003 Medicare law provided a temporary increase in geographic payment adjustments for certain states. This increase also will expire on June 30, 2008 under current law.

But let's be serious... does Mitch really care about all these Kentucky commoners getting the shaft? His insurance lobby buddies pay Mitch well, and he has his own Free Government Health Care.

Well, he has it for another 6 months.