TED KENNEDY'S dramatic appearance Wednesday to cast a decisive vote on a Medicare bill is a reminder of how much poorer American politics would be without the Massachusetts lion in the Senate. Kennedy's surprise appearance, five weeks after undergoing brain surgery, to rescue the imperiled healthcare legislation was a vintage combination of shrewd politics, progressive policy, and more than a bit of poetry.
The din of colleagues cheering Kennedy's triumphant return was enough to melt the hardest heart. Nine Republicans, swept along in the moment or just recognizing defeat, switched their votes to give the bill a veto-proof majority. Until Kennedy's arrival, Democrats did not even have the 60 votes needed to block a Republican filibuster.
The bill, which now heads to President Bush, stops a proposed 10 percent cut in reimbursements for doctors treating Medicare patients and reduces payments to private insurers instead, lessening incentives for seniors to leave Medicare for HMO alternatives. The scheduled cut in physician fees also threatened access to care for 9 million military families, whose doctors are paid along the Medicare formula. Kennedy, who 43 years ago voted to bring Medicare into being, has more than a passing policy interest in seeing the program endure.
The turnaround handed Senate majority leader Harry Reid and finance committee chairman Max Baucus an important victory. Their support will be crucial as Kennedy prepares for his own abiding priority - universal healthcare - to be debated next session.
Over 46 years in the Senate, Kennedy has always backed up emotional appeals with dogged policy research and personal relationships. On this vote, as with so many others, that made all the difference.
