U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton

Congressman Ike Skelton

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 24, 2010) — Today, Congressman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) released the following statement after voting to restore payment cuts to doctors for services provided to senior citizens and military families through Medicare and TRICARE:

“Rural doctors rely on payments from Medicare and TRICARE because so many of their patients have health insurance through those two programs. But, when doctors don’t know how much they should expect to get paid by Medicare and TRICARE, it makes it harder for them to continue seeing seniors and military families.

“Today, I voted to restore Medicare and TRICARE payments to doctors that were cut earlier this month. While I am disappointed that this is just another short-term fix to an issue that is in need of a permanent solution, the cuts that took effect on June 1 were already making it more difficult for some Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries to get care.”

The U.S. House of Representatives approved Senate amendments to H.R. 3962 by a vote of 417 to 1. This bill would prevent a 21 percent cut in Medicare and TRICARE reimbursements to doctors that provide services to patients under these programs. Before becoming law, H.R. 3962 must be signed by President Barack Obama.

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Congressman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) serves as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Congressman Skelton’s website is at www.house.gov/skelton. Skelton can also be reached by Facebook at www.facebook.com/ikeskelton#!/ikeskelton and via Twitter at www.twitter.com/IkeSkelton.

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