AARP Thanks Congress for Keeping Medicare Fair, Overriding White House Veto

    Bipartisan Bill Improves Low-Income Help and Boosts Quality through

           National E-Prescribing, Helps Ensure Access to Doctors

                     AARP Maryland Key Vote News Alert

ATTENTION NEWS DESKS: AARP is recording House and Senate roll call votes on

   key issues throughout the 110th Congress, and informing its nearly 40

             million members of the results of these key votes.



    BALTIMORE, July 15 /EMWNews/ -- SUMMARY: Today the U.S.

House of Representatives and Senate voted overwhelmingly to override a

White House veto and pass important Medicare legislation. The Medicare

Improvements for Patients and Providers Act will improve Medicare's

low-income programs, boost health care quality with a system of national

e-prescribing, and help ensure the access of patients to their doctors.






    MARYLAND                 VOTED YES TO PASS          VOTED NO ON

                              MEDICARE BILL            MEDICARE BILL



    Bartlett, Roscoe                X

    Cardin, Benjamin                X

    Cummings, Elijah                X

    Edwards, Donna                  X

    Gilchrest, Wayne                X

    Hoyer, Steny                    X

    Mikulski, Barbara               X

    Ruppersberger, Dutch            X

    Sarbanes, John                  X

    Van Hollen, Chris               X





    *  Did not vote



    ** How a legislator votes on issues is only one factor in evaluating his

       or her legislative performance, which should also include such things

       as constituency services and committee work.



    "Today's vote is a victory for the 44 million Americans who depend on

Medicare, and we applaud Maryland's congressional delegation for their

continued support," Joseph DeMattos, Jr., AARP Maryland Senior State

Director. "This bipartisan legislation will help more Americans afford

their health care bills while bringing doctors offices and pharmacies into

the 21st century with e-prescribing."



    AARP has been advocating for several months to ensure that lawmakers

keep Medicare fair for the people who depend on it when Congress addresses

physician payment cuts. AARP has also been advocating for this bill's

improvements to Medicare, particularly the low-income programs and

electronic prescribing.



    Since launching the "Keep Medicare Fair" initiative in April, AARP's

grassroots volunteers and activists have sent more than 1.2 million

messages to Congress and the White House. As part of this effort, an AARP

survey released May 19 found that of adults 50-plus, 81 percent oppose

additional increases to Medicare premiums and 66 percent are less likely to

vote for a Member of Congress who supports those increases.



    AARP notified the 110th Congress that it was tracking roll call votes

on key legislation important to its 39 million members and reporting the

outcomes of these votes back to its members.



    "We believe people make the right choices when they understand the

issues and positions taken by their elected officials. AARP intends to

ensure that its members get that information," DeMattos concluded.



    AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps

people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are

beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not

endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either

political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the

definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation

magazine with over 33 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source

for AARP's 39 million members and Americans 50+; AARP Segunda Juventud, the

only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic

community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated

charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older

persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and

sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of

Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.