The measure, co-authored and championed by U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., also includes other provisions he said will strengthen health care and Medicare, the government health insurance program for the elderly and disabled.
“Today is a great day,” Baucus said in a statement late Wednesday. “One of my top priorities is to help make sure that all Montanans have access to quality, affordable health care and this bill will help to do just that.
The White House, which had opposed the measure and indicated a possible veto by the president, had no comment.
The 69-30 vote that overcame a Republican filibuster also featured a dramatic, brief return to the Senate by U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who's been undergoing treatment in Boston for a brain tumor.
The bill had failed by a single vote two weeks ago; Kennedy wasn't present to cast his vote then. This time, he flew to Washington, D.C., to be among the 49 Democrats voting for “cloture,” to cut off debate and let the bill advance.
“I return to the Senate today to keep a promise to our senior citizens, and that's to protect Medicare,” Kennedy said in a statement. “Win, lose or draw, I wasn't going to take the chance that my vote could make the difference.”
Eighteen Republicans and two Independents joined all 49 Democrats in voting to halt debate and advance the bill. It passed the House overwhelmingly last month and now goes to President Bush for his signature.
All three members of Montana's congressional delegation voted for the measure: Baucus, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, a Republican.
Physicians across Montana and the nation have said the 10 percent cut in payments from Medicare would discourage them from accepting new Medicare-covered patients. Medicare payments for doctor visits and other procedures already are barely covering physicians' costs, they've said.
Medicare covers about 43 million people nationwide, including 135,000 in Montana.
The 10 percent cut had been scheduled to take effect July 1. The Bush administration suspended it while the Senate continued to work on the bill.
The bill blocks the cut and increases payments slightly next year. It also increases payments for “primary care” physicians in shortage areas, like parts of Montana, extends an increase in payments to doctors in rural areas, and expands hospitals' abilities to provide mental health treatment to veterans in crisis.
Montana primary care doctors, who are mostly family physicians and internists, have said low Medicare payments are among the reasons that fewer doctors are entering these critical specialties.
Jay Larson, a Helena internist who had urged Baucus to work to increase Medicare payment for primary care doctors, cheered the senator's efforts and the passage of the bill.
“If (the bill) did not pass, it would have been disastrous for senior citizens on Medicare,” Larson said.
Some Republicans and the White House had opposed the bill because it would reduce payments to private insurers who offer Medicare Advantage plans, which provide coverage for Medicare and other health services.
Baucus and others had argued that involvement of private insurers was costing Medicare too much money.
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