Byron Dorgan Votes Against Health Care Funding For North Dakota Seniors

Protects Medicare Benefits For Floridians At Expense Of North Dakota Seniors

WASHINGTON – In yet another controversial vote that he will have to account for in next year’s election, U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) voted against a provision today that would have provided his constituents in North Dakota with the same Medicare Advantage benefits as Florida seniors.

The amendment that Dorgan voted against, which was offered by U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), would have sent the Obama-Reid government-run health care bill back to the Senate Finance Committee with instructions to report back with changes that would provide seniors around the country with the same grandfathered Medicare Advantage benefits that are provided to Florida seniors.

Dorgan’s vote today comes on the heels of his recent claim that the Democrats’ health care bill contained “no benefit cuts for senior citizens” – a claim debunked by a fellow Democrat Senator later that day.

“Once again today, Byron Dorgan toed the party line for President Obama and voted against a provision that would have provided North Dakota seniors with the same lower cost-sharing, wellness programs, and vision, hearing, and dental benefits under Medicare Advantage that Florida seniors will enjoy under the current Obama-Reid bill,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Colin Reed.

“If seniors in Florida deserve to keep their Medicare Advantage benefits, then why don’t seniors in North Dakota – especially low-income and minority seniors who would benefit the most – deserve the same benefits?” Reed concluded.

In the current Obama-Reid funding formula, seniors in Florida already get many more Medicare Advantage benefits than seniors in other parts of the country. U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) defended the funding for seniors in Florida, saying, “it would be intolerable” for them to “give up substantial health benefits they are enjoying under Medicare.”