Nelson honors stricken South Dakota senator
Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2007
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson is helping fellow U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota celebrate his recovery from a brain hemorrhage a year ago.
Nelson asked the Senate on Wednesday to rename his bill intended to ensure access to Medicare's impatient rehabilitative care the Tim Johnson Inpatient Rehabilitation Preservation Act of 2007.
Johnson, also a Democrat, is a co-sponsor of the bill.
Nelson said in a telephone conference call with reporters Wednesday that a bureaucratic rule change at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is threatening the ability of senior citizens to get care through rehabilitative hospitals -- like Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln.
"This is an issue that obviously Tim knows a lot about, because as he can attest, rehab doctors and nurses helped him on the long road to recovery and are still helping him today," Nelson said. "More than anyone else in the Senate, Tim knows firsthand the importance of good rehabilitative care."
Johnson first showed signs of the hemorrhage on Dec. 13, 2006, during a telephone news conference. He was taken to George Washington University Hospital, where doctors performed emergency surgery for an arteriovenous malformation, a condition that causes arteries and veins in the brain to grow abnormally large, become tangled and sometimes burst.
Johnson returned to the Senate nine months later after extensive rehabilitation that he still undergoes.
"We're all so pleased that Tim has recovered so well," Nelson said Wednesday. "This action will recognize the importance of the role Tim has played and will continue to play in this institution and for those suffering from similar diseases."
On the Net:
U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson: http://bennelson.senate.gov/
U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson: http://johnson.senate.gov/
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/
Nelson asked the Senate on Wednesday to rename his bill intended to ensure access to Medicare's impatient rehabilitative care the Tim Johnson Inpatient Rehabilitation Preservation Act of 2007.
Johnson, also a Democrat, is a co-sponsor of the bill.
Nelson said in a telephone conference call with reporters Wednesday that a bureaucratic rule change at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is threatening the ability of senior citizens to get care through rehabilitative hospitals -- like Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln.
"This is an issue that obviously Tim knows a lot about, because as he can attest, rehab doctors and nurses helped him on the long road to recovery and are still helping him today," Nelson said. "More than anyone else in the Senate, Tim knows firsthand the importance of good rehabilitative care."
Johnson first showed signs of the hemorrhage on Dec. 13, 2006, during a telephone news conference. He was taken to George Washington University Hospital, where doctors performed emergency surgery for an arteriovenous malformation, a condition that causes arteries and veins in the brain to grow abnormally large, become tangled and sometimes burst.
Johnson returned to the Senate nine months later after extensive rehabilitation that he still undergoes.
"We're all so pleased that Tim has recovered so well," Nelson said Wednesday. "This action will recognize the importance of the role Tim has played and will continue to play in this institution and for those suffering from similar diseases."
On the Net:
U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson: http://bennelson.senate.gov/
U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson: http://johnson.senate.gov/
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/
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