Kennedy’s Vote Symbolically and Briefly Blocks Pending Medicare Cuts to Physicians

Sen. Edward Kennedy added even more drama to the bill that aims to cut Medicare reimbursements to physicians.

Casting his vote so that the bill blocking those pending cuts passed the Senate proved to be, at the very least, a symbolic victory….that is, until it gets to George W Bush’s desk where he has promised to veto it. Now, even if the President proceeds with a promised veto, the Democrats can claim they saved the day for 44 million seniors on Medicare and fault Republicans for not being sufficiently interested in the health care needs of elderly Americans.

That may suit the party’s purpose in the upcoming election, but the reality is far more complicated. Kennedy’s vote doesn’t automatically fix the troubled government healthcare guarantor; it merely opens a window into what may be just around the corner if universal healthcare financed completely by the government becomes reality: Congress becomes the arbiter of those health care budgets, every special interest group – including doctors – will press for higher payments, without fail. And experience tells us, Congress won’t have the courage to resist. Chaos? You bet. | LINK