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Today, just two weeks after falling one vote short, I am proud to report that the United States Senate has, in the nick of time, found the votes to pass a bill that will avert a health care train wreck that would have affected millions of Americans enrolled in the Medicare and Tricare programs. On account of an outdated Medicare formula that desperately needs fixing, Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors were scheduled to drop over 10% on July 1st. As a result, many of the over half a million Colorado seniors on Medicare were at risk of finding that their doctors could no longer afford to treat them. It would have also affected tens of thousands of the service members and their families who are on Tricare, serving our country, and stationed in Colorado at places like Fort Carson and Buckley Air Force Base. Over the last two
weeks, millions of seniors, doctors, and patients have been on a hunt
for the one more vote that we needed to pass this bill. The bill also includes a number of other important measures, including ones that will help rural hospitals, independent pharmacies, and community health centers across our state, in places like Greeley, Grand Junction, and Alamosa. This bipartisan bill was the product of months of work in the Senate Finance Committee, of which I am a member. We still have more work to do, though. First, the President needs to sign H.R. 6331, which passed the House by a vote of 355-59. Then we must get back to work on strengthening the Medicare program and undertaking the broader reforms to our health care system that we so desperately need in this country. Today’s vote
was a victory for America’s seniors, doctors, and service members.
Sincerely, Ken Salazar
Please e-mail me with any questions or concerns you may have Senator
Ken Salazar's DC office is located at 702 Hart Senate office building,
Washington, DC 20510. He has Colorado regional offices in Denver, Colorado
Springs, Fort Collins, Ft. Morgan, Pueblo, Durango, Grand Junction and
Alamosa. For contact and mailing info, click
here.
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