HELENA
Sen. Max Baucus and Rep. Denny Rehberg are praising Congress for overriding the president's veto of the Medicare bill. The bill passed Tuesday protects doctors from a Medicare rate cut and includes several benefits for rural health care. For instance, Baucus says he included a provision that would strengthen rural hospitals' ability to provide emergency mental health care services for veterans. Baucus, a Democrat, is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicare and helped write and pass the bill. Rehberg, a Republican, says Montana seniors depend on Medicare for affordable access to health care. He says any reductions in the payments to physicians would hinder that access by limiting the number of patients each physician is able to serve. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. (AP)
