Update 7:30 p.m.: Congress Overrides Bush Veto

As forecast, President Bush vetoed the Medicare measure that the Senate passed last week, triggering an immediate 10.6 percent pay cut for doctors who treat Medicare patients and a vigorous effort by Democrats and lobbyists to override it.

“I support the primary objective of this legislation, to forestall reductions in physician payments,” Bush said in a statement. “Yet taking choices away from seniors to pay physicians is wrong.”

Supporters of the legislation had hoped to block the doctors’ pay cut and to finance the higher doctor payments by shaving $13 billion from Medicare Advantage private health plans over the next five years. The bill also would have included benefits for mental health and low-income programs and boosted the quality of care by calling for doctors to prescribe medications electronically.

Congress has been heavily lobbied by a coalition of health interest groups, including the insurance industry, which opposed the bill, and by the American Medical Association and AARP, which favored it. It was passed by a lopsided, bipartisan 335-59 vote in the House three weeks ago and gained the support of 69 Republican and Democratic senators when it was approved by the Senate. The Senate vote came after a dramatic appearance by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., making his first visit to Capitol Hill since his June 2 surgery for brain cancer.

But the White House has consistently opposed any legislation that scaled back the Medicare Advantage program. Medicare Advantage lets older and disabled people get their health benefits through a private insurer instead of traditional Medicare.

In the past month, lawmakers have been deluged not only by by lobbyists but by constituents. AARP officials estimated that more than 1.2 million members had contacted House and Senate offices.

Some 600,000 doctors care for Medicare patients. Payment rates were set to drop by 10.6 percent on July 1 as a result of a formula that calls for cuts when spending exceeds established goals. The AMA, which favored the legislation, calculated that Florida doctors would each lose as much as $25,000 in income unless the cuts were blocked.

“We will go out of our way to make sure our more than 39 million members know what’s at stake in a key vote and how their lawmakers voted,” said Nancy LeaMond, AARP’s executive vice president. “This is a great opportunity for Congress to show their constituents that they did the right thing. The president’s veto was unfortunate, but Congress still has a chance to make it right. This bill will improve Medicare for the 44 million Americans who depend on it for quality, affordable health care. It helps to ensure people in Medicare can continue to see their doctors while boosting low-income programs and improving safety with electronic prescribing.”