Earlier this week, Politico reported that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) switched his vote and opposed an increase in Medicare payments to doctors, after he made a deal with the White House. Officials promised Specter, who has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, “an administrative fix to increase Medicare reimbursements for oncologists.” Yet at least one medical association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, is “horrified” by Specter’s actions and assured Hill staff yesterday that it did not lobby him for the deal.
Update
Igor Volsky writes in the Wonk Room that “conservatives sided with the insurance lobby” in the recent Senate debate over Medicare pay cuts.
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