MINNEAPOLIS, June 27, 2008 - The Senate failed by one vote to pass a bill Thursday that would have averted a 10.6 percent cut in physician Medicare reimbursement July 1.

Both Sens. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., stood with physicians and voted in favor of the bill, H.R. 6331. All of Minnesota's representatives in the House voted for the bill, except Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater.

"We really appreciate the support of Minnesota's Congressional delegation, but Congress has to get out and do their job," said James J. Dehen, Jr., M.D. "The cuts are not right, they are not sustainable, and they need to be fixed."

The vote to call up the bill failed by 58 to 40, with Republican Senators casting all of the no votes, except Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, D-Nev., who voted against the measure so he could call it up at a later date.

The bill passed the House Tuesday by an overwhelming vote of 355 to 59.

Republican senators were upset that they had to vote on the version that passed the House, instead of having the option of voting on a tentative compromise between Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, according to Congressional Quarterly.

The only senators who did not vote were Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who is ill, and John McCain, R-Ariz., who was campaigning.  

President Bush had threatened to veto the bill in part because it reduced payments to Medicare Advantage plans offered by insurers such as Humana, UnitedHealth and Blue Cross and Blue Shield. 

As of now, it looks like the cut will occur. Congress is expected to revisit the issue after its July Fourth recess.

"This issue continues to highlight why physicians need to stay involved in the political process," Dehen said. "The forecasts that I've seen indicate that if these cuts go into effect, they will really start to hurt seniors' access to care."