Max Baucus: “I very much appreciate this development. This is very important. Now doctors will be paid. More important, seniors will…”

“I very much appreciate this development. This is very important. Now doctors will be paid. More important, seniors will get the benefits they deserve. Payments under TRICARE will now go out. Military who participate in TRICARE, the retired military program, will get their benefits because that is all tied together. It is important because this provision expired June 1, this month, and it is about the last day for the payments to be paid; otherwise, there would be a 21-percent reduction in payments to physicians, and many providers would not provide the services to seniors, or even Medicaid, for that matter. So it is very important that we are taking this action this day; otherwise, there would be near chaos in the absence of medical care and procedures. I appreciate the cooperation on both sides of the aisle in working this out. This is all paid for. This is not deficit spending, which I think is critical to many. Third, it is a good omen. I hope we can take this cooperation and work out the rest of the so-called extenders bill together on both sides of the aisle. I am very pleased with this development.”