Doctors across the country are breathing a sign of relief this morning, and if you or your loved ones are among the 44 million Americans who rely on Medicare for access to health care, you should be too.

The U.S. Senate late yesterday (July 9) agreed to recind a 10 percent cut in fees that Medicare pays doctors. The cut went into effect on July 1, but the government has agreed to pay doctors the their full fees retroactively to that date.  The U.S. House overwhelmingly voted against the cut on June 24, meaning that legislatively, the fight over reducing doctors’ fees is over.

The Senate decision is considered a victory for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who returned to Capitol Hill just for this vote from his home in Massachusetts — where he is recovering from June 2 brain surgery to remove a life-threatening tumor. Senate leaders tried to push the bill through without out the Medicare champion in June, but that effort failed.

“I return to the Senate today to keep a promise to our senior citizens – and that’s to protect Medicare,” Kennedy said.  “Win, lose or draw, I wanted to be here.  I wasn’t going to take the chance that my vote could make the difference.”