A Florida congressman scored a major victory on Wednesday night as the U.S. House passed his bill, without opposition, to save Medicare Advantage from being gutted by President Barack Obama’s federal health-care law.
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., has been an opponent of Obama’s health-care law, pointing out that it would end Medicare Advantage plans for some seniors when those plans do not accord to the demands of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Noting more than 10,000 seniors in his district could lose their current Medicare Advantage plans, Buchanan pointed out that most of them have low incomes and face health problems. Under Buchanan’s bill, these seniors would be eligible to keep their current Medicare Advantage plans.
“Protecting seniors in Sarasota and Manatee counties has and will always remain my top priority,” said Buchanan after the House passed his bill. “Passage of this bipartisan measure will help ensure that seniors are able to keep the health care and benefits they choose because the plans fit their needs.”
Buchanan rounded up 10 co-sponsors ranging the gambit from liberal U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., to conservative U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. Two Florida Republicans -- U.S. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and David Jolly -- also co-sponsored the bill.
Rangel took to the House floor to praise the measure.
“This has been one of the most exciting recent legislative experiences I’ve had, where we are dealing with Americans who are not Republicans or Democrats but they are sick, old and fragile and the government is not serving them,” Rangel said.
The measure is now in the U.S. Senate. Buchanan’s office informed Sunshine State News on Thursday that, while there is no sponsor or timeline in place, the Senate can take up and pass Buchanan’s measure as it currently is without going through committee stops.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
