Online Update: Medicare Suppliers Win in Congress Congress has approved legislation to delay and rewrite a program that would stop thousands of small businesses from selling to Medicare patients. Medical equipment suppliers and physicians had lobbied hard for the bill, H.R. 6331, which would also overturn a cut in Medicare payments to doctors. The Senate gave final congressional approval on July 9 by a 69-30 margin. Last month a federal judge in Washington refused to block Medicare from implementing the purchasing program, which establishes a list of 325 pre-approved suppliers of durable medical equipment. Beginning July 1, Medicare patients in 10 metropolitan areas were told they must buy from those suppliers in order to be reimbursed by the federal insurance program. The equipment includes a wide range of items as oxygen sets, diabetic supplies and walkers. The approved suppliers were selected by competitive bidding. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it expects the program to save as much as $1 billion and reduce costs to patients by an average of 26%. The American Association for Homecare says the preferred supplier list will lock out thousands of other small companies that have been selling to Medicare patients, and will put some of them out of business. It also argued that services will be disrupted as patients switch from one provider to another. The association sought an injunction to block the program, but U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina denied the request on June 30. The Senate vote came on the second try. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-MA, returned to the Senate floor for the first time since undergoing surgery for a brain tumor to cast his vote for the bill. The White House has threatened a presidential veto, but both houses of Congress passed the bill by more than the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto. The bill would postpone implementation of the new purchasing rules for 18 months and mandate changes in the bidding program.