Congress' recent override of a presidential veto on a Medicare bill was the topic of discussion at a press conference Friday at Stormont Vail Hospital.

Senator Pat Roberts along with representatives from various Kansas medical organizations commended those on Capitol Hill for putting aside bipartisan differences to put a stop to a cut of nearly 11% in Medicare payments to doctors.

According to the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians, nearly half of all physicians in Kansas were planning on limiting or closing the door on new Medicare patients had the President's veto stood.

413,000 Kansans 65 and over have Medicare including Topeka resident Maria Rivera.

“If it wasn't for Medicare I wouldn't be here today,” Rivera said. “It’s helped me a lot. I didn't have any insurance until I was 65; it’s helped me out quite a bit.”

“They struggle with the rising cost of their medications, their food, and more recently with their gas,” said cardiologist Dr. Thomas Doyle, with the Cotton-O’Neil Heart Center. “As the summer heats up and the winter’s cold sets in, the last thing these patients need to worry about is their access to affordable healthcare.”

Cotton-O’Neil Primary Care Physicians, a division of Stormont Vail Healthcare here in Topeka, had stopped taking new Medicare patients beginning July 1st but the recent decision allows them to open back up to new Medicare patients.