From the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Blog:
Tuesday, July 15, President Bush vetoed The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (H.R. 6331). However, Congress acted quickly to override the veto – the House voted 383-41 and the Senate voted 70-26 – that would have, among other things, cut Medicare reimbursement rates to doctors by nearly 11 percent.
The bill was of particular concern to blood cancer patients as the bill included a provision to extend the “freeze” on the Medicare reimbursement formula for radioimmunotherapies (RITs), Bexxar and Zevalin, which are used to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma, by 18 months. Without such a freeze, RIT reimbursement rates would be drastically reduced and access to this valuable therapy would be threatened for many lymphoma patients.
Advocates from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and other organizations promptly contacted their elected officials and urged them to override the veto. Thank you to all of the advocates that took a moment to ensure that lymphoma patients have access to these potentially life-saving treatments.
(By the way, still training for the triathlon... http://www.active.com/donate/tntntx/Criss4shay)
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