Harkin backs Grassley’s Medicare bill

Iowa’s democrat Senator is getting behind his republican counterpart’s plan to increase the Medicare reimbursement paid to Iowa hospitals. Senator Tom Harkin says he’ll co-sponsor Senator Chuck Grassley’s bill.Harkin says he’ll be the first co-sponsor and says the bill takes an incremental approach to fixing the problem. Iowa has the lowest level of Medicare reimbursement of all 50 states. Harkin says he will also continue pushing the Medicare bill he authored that’s called the “Fair Act.”Harkin is calling on all members of the Iowa Congressional delegation to support both bills. Harkin says he’s not sure if Grassley’s or his own bill will come up for a vote first. He says he’ll do whatever he can to get his bill through.He says he hopes Grassley’s bill will come out of the finance committee, as a stamp of approval from the committee would help. Representative Leonard Boswell, a democrat, has called for the removal of Tom Scully, the administrator of the federal Medicare program. Scully is a former law partner of Harkin’s wife, and Harkin says he isn’t joining Boswell in the call for Scully’s resignation.Harkin says he would vouch for Scully as a good person, but says he has disagreements with him. Boswell was upset that Scully said plan to sue the federal government over our lowest-in-the-nation reimbursement rate was “ridiculous.” Harkin says Iowa’s congressmen should get behind the lawsuit and any bills to correct the Medicare disparity.