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The U.S. Senate is poised to vote as early as today, June 26, on
HR 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act,
which passed overwhelmingly in the U.S. House on Tuesday, June 24,
by a veto-proof vote of 335 to 59 (APMA eNews, #2602).
Senate and House Democratic leadership have asked APMA and other
organization members to call and write their Republican Senators NOW
and urge a YES vote on HR 6331. Again, APMA is sending this alert in
concert with a consortium that includes the American Medical
Association (AMA) and other healthcare organizations. You may use
the AMA hotline at (800) 833-6354 to place the call to your
Senator’s office.
Message: Hello, I am Dr. ____ from [name the city/state in which
you are registered to vote]. I am calling to ask Senator ________ to
vote in favor of HR 6331, the bill overwhelmingly passed by the
House on Tuesday that provides a number of much-needed improvements
to Medicare, including a halt to the impending fee cut for
physicians. I urge the Senator to vote YES on HR 6331.
Two calls will be necessary if both Senators in a state are
Republican, and you may pass along the phone number and message to
others--patients, staff, and family. The key is that the calls are
needed NOW.
If you do not know who your Senators are, link to
www.apma.org/eadvocacy,
the APMA federal e-advocacy Web site, or
www.senate.gov, and use
the "Find Your Senators" drop-down box in the upper right corner to
select your state. Each Senator’s party will be designated with an R
(Republican), D (Democrat), or ID (Independent). Senate Democrats
are ready to vote "yes," so no calls are necessary to those offices.
APMA members in states with Republican Senators may receive an
additional e-mail directly from APMA’s Legislative Advocacy staff
that will provide a link to send an e-mail message to Senators AFTER
YOU MAKE THE CRITICAL PHONE CALL! SOURCE: APMA Daily eNews,
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