Comments on: In Controversy Over Medicare Pay Cuts, Conservatives Side With Insurance Industry http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/07/02/medicare-physician-cuts/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:42:01 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: john saarikko http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/07/02/medicare-physician-cuts/comment-page-1/#comment-1590 john saarikko Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:32:13 +0000 http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/07/02/medicare-physician-cuts/#comment-1590 Solve all your problems. Medicare, insurance, veterans and cut costs in half. Insure everyone. http://www.universalhealthcareinfousa.com Solve all your problems. Medicare, insurance, veterans and cut costs in half. Insure everyone.

http://www.universalhealthcareinfousa.com

]]> By: Mugsy http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/07/02/medicare-physician-cuts/comment-page-1/#comment-1580 Mugsy Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:48:09 +0000 http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/07/02/medicare-physician-cuts/#comment-1580 The Houston Chronicle spun the story <a href="http://www.bi30.org/wordpress/2008/07/04/july-4th-mis-lead-story-are-doctors-really-sick-of-medicare/" rel="nofollow">this way</a> on Friday: <strong>DOCTORS SICK OF MEDICARE</strong> Implying that that doctors oppose Medicare. The Houston Chronicle spun the story this way on Friday:

DOCTORS SICK OF MEDICARE

Implying that that doctors oppose Medicare.

]]> By: gpawelski http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/07/02/medicare-physician-cuts/comment-page-1/#comment-1574 gpawelski Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:29:03 +0000 http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/07/02/medicare-physician-cuts/#comment-1574 For five years now, Medicare has been paying private Medicare Advantage plans much more per enrollee compared with what the same enrollees would have cost in the traditional Medicare fee-for-service program. It's time for the Congress to examine whether the extra payments to Medicare Advantage plans are the best use of tax-payers dollars for the beneficiaries the program is designed to serve. These payments could be used to provide better benefits, like filling in the doughnut hole and reduce out-of-pocket costs for seniors and the disabled, as well as to create a viable alternative to the ineffective sustainable growth rate mechanism currently used to determine the physician payment update. Traditional Medicare needs to be able to compete on a level playing field with private plans, which requires the elimination of these extra payments. For five years now, Medicare has been paying private Medicare Advantage plans much more per enrollee compared with what the same enrollees would have cost in the traditional Medicare fee-for-service program.

It’s time for the Congress to examine whether the extra payments to Medicare Advantage plans are the best use of tax-payers dollars for the beneficiaries the program is designed to serve.

These payments could be used to provide better benefits, like filling in the doughnut hole and reduce out-of-pocket costs for seniors and the disabled, as well as to create a viable alternative to the ineffective sustainable growth rate mechanism currently used to determine the physician payment update.

Traditional Medicare needs to be able to compete on a level playing field with private plans, which requires the elimination of these extra payments.

]]> By: tom http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/07/02/medicare-physician-cuts/comment-page-1/#comment-1572 tom Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:48:21 +0000 http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/07/02/medicare-physician-cuts/#comment-1572 The seeds for this were sown by Paul Elwood and InterStudy back in the 1970s with the ill-fated HMO Medicare capitation experiment. What happened then -- and what is happening now with Medicare Advantage plans -- is that the younger, healthier Medicare recipients selected themselves into HMOs with more restrictive provider networks. They were drawn by broader benefits and undetoured by having to switch doctors because they were generally healthy and not doctor-dependent. Congress' vote proves that they have learned nothing over the years. They are destroying Medicare and starving out providers while doing nothing about the overall sickness of the U.S. healthcare financing mess. This instructive tale about Medicare Advantage puts the lie to the republican refrain: "Market forces will solve our healthcare problems". Burn the toast and scrape it. Repeat over and over and over. The seeds for this were sown by Paul Elwood and InterStudy back in the 1970s with the ill-fated HMO Medicare capitation experiment. What happened then — and what is happening now with Medicare Advantage plans — is that the younger, healthier Medicare recipients selected themselves into HMOs with more restrictive provider networks. They were drawn by broader benefits and undetoured by having to switch doctors because they were generally healthy and not doctor-dependent.

Congress’ vote proves that they have learned nothing over the years. They are destroying Medicare and starving out providers while doing nothing about the overall sickness of the U.S. healthcare financing mess. This instructive tale about Medicare Advantage puts the lie to the republican refrain: “Market forces will solve our healthcare problems”.

Burn the toast and scrape it. Repeat over and over and over.

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