MINNEAPOLIS, June 27, 2008—The American Medical Association released an intense statement in the wake of the failure of the U.S. Senate by a single vote to pass H.R. 6331.

“The physicians of America are outraged that a group of Republican senators followed the direction of the Bush Administration and voted to protect health insurance companies at the expense of America’s seniors, disabled and military families," said AMA President Nancy H. Nielsen, M.D. 
 
“These senators leave for their 4th of July picnics knowing that the most vulnerable Americans are at risk because of the Senate's inability to act to stop drastic payment cuts for health care services that are needed by our Medicare and TRICARE patients, Nielsen said.

On Tuesday the House voted to preserve access to care for Medicare patients in a bipartisan landslide vote to pass H.R. 6331 by a margin of 355 to 59.

"The House," Nielsen said, "made seniors, the disabled and military families a top priority."

But because of a few votes by the Republican minority, America stands at the brink of a Medicare meltdown. Four days from today, the government will slash Medicare physician payments by 10.6 percent, forcing many physicians to make the difficult choice to limit the number of Medicare patients in their practices.

“The Senate must return from their recess and make seniors’ health care their top priority," Nielsen said. "For doctors, this is not a partisan issue - it's a patient access issue.”