Greeted by a standing ovation from senators on both sides of the aisle, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) returned to the Senate floor on Wednesday for the first time since he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May.

His return brought a victory to a stalled Medicare bill. The Medicare Improvements for Patients Providers Act (HR 6331) was approved yesterday by a veto proof margin in the Senate. Now the 10.6 percent cut to physicians’ payments, which went into effect on July 1st, will be reversed.

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Last week the U.S. Senate was unable to vote on HR 6331, The Medicare Improvements for Patients Providers Act. The Senate voted 58-40 to cut off debate and take up the bill, but they were two votes shy of what was needed.

What does this mean? If the Senate vote to cut off the debate ended up 60-40, the Senate would have been forced to vote on the bill. Instead, the Senate debated endlessly (filibuster) until they finally adjourned to go home for the entire next week. Because of this inaction, payments for physicians who treat Medicare recipients were cut by 10.6 percent on July 1st.

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