(June 27, 2008)—Stung by the U.S. Senate’s failure Thursday to pass a House bill that would have cancelled a scheduled 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payment to doctors, the political arm of the Texas Medical Association withdrew its support Friday for Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who helped defeat the measure.
Democratic state Rep. Rick Noriega is challenging Cornyn in November.
In a letter sent to Cornyn Friday, Texas Medical Association Political Action Committee Chairman Dr. Manuel Acosta said the PAC “is outraged that you made the decision to follow the direction of the Bush Administration and voted to protect health insurance companies at the expense of America’s seniors, those with disabilities, and military families.
“On July 1 – just four days from now – the government will slash Medicare physician payments by at least 10.6 percent, even more in many parts of Texas. That will force physicians into an impossible choice: face financial crisis by continuing to see their Medicare patients, or protect their practices and cut off those patients.
“There is talk and then there is action. We expect our elected officials to show leadership and do the right thing. Absent that, TEXPAC has rescinded our endorsement of your candidacy,” Acosta said.
The House bill, which the president threatened to veto, would have cancelled the cut and paid for it by trimming payment to private health insurers.
It had broad support from doctors, hospitals and pharmacists.
Cornyn’s spokesman Kevin McLaughlin called the senator's action a "procedural vote" and says the association is fully aware that the legislation will be corrected shortly.
McLaughlin says Cornyn will honor his commitment to Texas doctors to find a long-term solution to the problem.
In a statement posted earlier on his Senate Web site, Cornyn blamed Democrats for “election year grandstanding.”
“This hardship on patients and doctors could have been easily prevented if the Majority Leader had not objected to a 30-day extension of current law while negotiations continue,” Cornyn said.
“The Democrats knew these cuts could have been prevented through an extension or a bipartisan bill. Yet they insisted on a partisan proposal …that would produce a certain veto and indefinite delay as the process started over,” he said.
TEXPAC, which represents 43,000 Texas physicians and medical students and about 8,000 alliance members, is one of the oldest PACs in Texas as well as one of the largest.
