Senate defeats GOP amendment to reverse Medicare cuts in healthcare bill.

The Senate voted yesterday to defeat a GOP amendment to the healthcare bill, sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), that would reduce Medicare funding by $460 billion. There was extensive print coverage of the vote, which generally cast the defeat of the amendment in positive terms, although several reports acknowledged Democrats took a political risk. In addition, the Senate approved an amendment by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) on women's health.

The AP (12/4, Espo) reports, "Unflinching on a critical first test, Senate Democrats closed ranks Thursday behind $460 billion in politically risky Medicare cuts at the heart of healthcare legislation, thwarting a Republican attempt to doom President Barack Obama's sweeping overhaul." The "bid by the bill's critics to reverse cuts to the popular Medicare program failed on a vote of 58-42, drawing the support of two Democratic defectors." The Medicare vote "came not long after the Senate backed a guarantee for all insured women age 40 and older to receive mammograms with no out-of-pocket costs."

The Washington Post (12/4, Montgomery) reports the Medicare amendment "would have sent the bill back to committee with orders to remove the spending cuts. The amendment effectively would have forced Democrats back to the drawing board after months of negotiations to craft a measure that would extend coverage to 30 million additional Americans without increasing budget deficits." Of "four amendments considered Thursday, McCain's was the most potentially damaging."

Under the headline, "Senate Backs Preventive Health Care For Women," the New York Times (12/4, A21, Pear, Herszenhorn) reports the Senate "voted Thursday to require health insurance companies to provide free mammograms and other preventive services to women, and it turned back a Republican challenge to Medicare savings that constitute the single largest source of financing for the bill." The "61-to-39 vote on health benefits for women would, in effect, override new recommendations from a federal advisory panel that said routine mammograms should begin at age 50, rather than 40."

The Washington Times (12/4, Dinan) reports Democrats "successfully defended more than $400 billion in Medicare cuts, turning back a potentially lethal stab at the measure." Democrats "argued that the cuts -- totaling $464 billion over 10 years -- would not affect the basic services guaranteed by Medicare, and instead would squeeze insurance companies and hospitals that are overcharging for the level of service they are providing." Notably, AARP, "the large and influential seniors lobby, opposed Mr. McCain's amendment."

Politico (12/4, Brown) reports in "response to the McCain amendment, Democrats received unanimous support for an alternative from Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) that restates principles in the bill -- that the Medicare cuts would not affect guaranteed benefits for seniors."

Roll Call (12/4, Drucker, subscription required) reports Republicans "vowed to offer measures similar to the McCain amendment to try to force Democrats into tough votes on Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly. McCain said he would keep attacking the issue."

McCain "rebukes" AARP for supporting Medicare cuts in Senate bill. Reuters (12/4) reports that, following the defeat of his amendment to send the health reform bill back to the Finance Committee, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) attacked AARP for its support of the health overhaul, and for backing Democrats regarding the cuts to Medicare Advantage plans.

Similarly, The Hill's (12/3, Romm, subscription required) Blog "Briefing Room" reported, "Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) on Thursday rebuked the AARP for opposing his amendment to rollback many of the Medicare changes Democrats included in their healthcare bill." In a tweet sent shortly after the measure was defeated, McCain wrote, "I call on seniors to cut up their AARP cards and send them back to them!" The Hill explains that McCain's amendment, first proposed on Tuesday, "quickly earned the AARP's scorn." In response to it, AARP CEO Barry Rand wrote, "The legislation before the Senate properly focuses on provider reimbursement reforms to achieve these important policy objectives. ... Most importantly, the legislation does not reduce any guaranteed Medicare benefits."