Legislation was strongly supported by Alaska doctors and AARP

In a stunning reversal of her position, Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted yesterday to block a bill which would have resolved longstanding problems in Alaska with the Medicare reimbursements paid to Alaska physicians.  

The Medicare fix was strongly supported by the Alaska Chapter of the American Associated of Retired Persons (AARP) as well as Alaska physicians and the American Medical Association (AMA).  Without this legislation, in January 2010, Alaska physicians will face an unprecedented 21.5 percent cut in their Medicare payments.

AARP has stated Alaska seniors are already having difficulty finding physicians who accept Medicare because of low reimbursement rates.   According to the AMA, the January decrease in reimbursement rates will greatly decrease the number of physicians accepting Medicare.

In town hall meetings across Alaska this past summer, Murkowski argued that Medicare reimbursement problems should be fixed first before any comprehensive health reform legislation.   But yesterday Murkowski voted to prohibit Senate Bill 1776 – which would have increased the reimbursement rates to doctors – from coming to the floor for debate.

Murkowski’s purported reason for opposing debate on the bill was that it added to the deficit and did not cite revenue sources.  However, backers of the legislation had told Murkowski they planned to offer amendments to address these concerns to make the bill deficit neutral.  

Washington political insiders said Senate Republican opposition to the bill was a “dry run” for Republicans to thwart pending comprehensive health care legislation.  Sen. Murkowski is now in the Republican leadership where she acts as a political strategist for the Republican Minority.

“Once again, Sen. Murkowski says one thing when she is in Alaska but votes the opposite when she is in D.C.” said Alaska Democratic Party Chair Patti Higgins.   

Higgins added, “She portrays herself as a moderate, but her voting record on Medicare and other issues is anything but.  It’s time for Sen. Murkowski to walk her talk and quit playing politics with Alaska seniors.  This reimbursement bill was the first real attempt to deal with the sad reality that Alaska doctors can’t treat Medicare recipients because of they can’t afford the low reimbursements.  Because of Sen. Murkowski’s political obstruction, the situation in Alaska is only going to get worse. ”

Alaska’s other senator, Sen. Mark Begich, supported having a debate on the Medicare reimbursement and was disappointed in the Senate vote.  In a statement released by his Senate office, Begich said, “I believe those voting no today turned their backs on those seniors and military veterans in Alaska and other states who are having a hard time seeing a doctor.”  Begich added, “For years this has been a problem in our state – I hear more about this from our seniors than any other issue. Because of underpayments, some doctors in Alaska are refusing to take new Medicare patients and others are opting out of Medicare entirely.”