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Why Congress Shouldn’t Wait For Medicare Reform
The Federalist ^ | December 21, 2017 | Christopher Jacobs

Posted on 12/21/2017 10:39:37 AM PST by Kaslin

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1 posted on 12/21/2017 10:39:37 AM PST by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

Health care from the lowest bidder.

What could go wrong?

You run off all the folks who wish to provide good reasoned service for a reasoned price, by refusing their bids to bring in the lowest bidder who will cut too many corners.

All sounds good until you realize they won’t use the same judgement you would, if hiring a contractor.

Heart surgery for $372.50? Why not? You win! Welcome aboard our newest health contractor.


2 posted on 12/21/2017 10:51:58 AM PST by DoughtyOne (McConnell, Ryan, and the whole GOPe are dead to me. Are Alabamans tired of winning?)
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To: Kaslin
To the uninitiated, premium support would transform Medicare into a program roughly akin to the federal employee health benefit plan, or the Obamacare exchanges established in 2014.

Obamacare for elders. What could possibly go wrong with that?

Insurers, including traditional government-run Medicare, would bid against each other to offer the usual complement of Medicare services.

Medicare recipients are 65 and older. Unlike standard healthcare insurance, there isn't really any pool of healthy individuals making few claims to offset those making more claims. So you're asking insurance companies to bid on providing coverage for people they haven't a chance of making a profit on. So why should they want to get into the business?

3 posted on 12/21/2017 10:57:54 AM PST by DoodleDawg
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To: Kaslin; vette6387; unkus; SkyPilot; ZULU; Foolsgold; Liz; LS; MamaDearest; sheik yerbouty; ...

The Social Security increase for 2018 which was a pathetic 2% (government joke, right?)ended up being nothing because they increased the cost of garbage Medicare!!

Net gain (bend over) was ZERO! That was a huge help NOT.


4 posted on 12/21/2017 11:16:53 AM PST by ExTexasRedhead
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To: DoughtyOne

More Federalist globalist crap which if enacted will shift costs to seniors. Also you can kiss off any future gop victories. Federalist is just a gop donor globalist rag constantly trying to shift costs.


5 posted on 12/21/2017 11:22:53 AM PST by Okeydoker
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To: Okeydoker

I believe that any fixes need to be ones that move toward the private sector. How do we achieve that.

What we have now grew over nearly 50 years. The solution will have to be phased in.

We start the process today, and in 20 years half of folks will have their own medical insurance. In 40 years there will be almost no one on Medicare as we know it now.

Sounds like a very long time. When we think of 1980 and now, it doesn’t seem all that long ago.

Time to get to work, and Social Security needs to go on the same path now.

In 40 years we have almost nobody under the government wing.

Cool. Well worth the process.


6 posted on 12/21/2017 11:27:59 AM PST by DoughtyOne (McConnell, Ryan, and the whole GOPe are dead to me. Are Alabamans tired of winning?)
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To: DoughtyOne

Much of medicare is already medicare Advantage which is the competitive hmo plan. What this dirtbag jacobs and the corrupt globalists want to do is replace govt payments with vouchers which they can over time reduce and eliminate thus turning the program into being funded entirely by seniors. Thats where dirtbag paul ryan and his gop donors have tried for years. This article is just more of the PR propaganda effort to soften up the public so ryan can try this scam next year.


7 posted on 12/21/2017 11:40:07 AM PST by Okeydoker
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To: DoughtyOne
Health care from the lowest bidder.

I think they're called Death Panels.

8 posted on 12/21/2017 11:42:59 AM PST by Wolfie
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To: ExTexasRedhead
I didn't get any Social security increase, but the premium for my medicare went up. My husband's SS that he gets went up $5 per month, his medicare premium also went up

You see those of us elderly who are on Social security and medicare do pay for it,

9 posted on 12/21/2017 11:43:15 AM PST by Kaslin (Quid est Veritas?: What Is Truth?)
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To: Okeydoker

Wouldn’t put anything past these folks.

I would be in a world of hurt if what I planed for for my entire adult life were to be flipped upside down by one of these quacks.


10 posted on 12/21/2017 11:43:52 AM PST by DoughtyOne (McConnell, Ryan, and the whole GOPe are dead to me. Are Alabamans tired of winning?)
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To: Wolfie

Hand in hand at the very least...


11 posted on 12/21/2017 11:48:57 AM PST by DoughtyOne (McConnell, Ryan, and the whole GOPe are dead to me. Are Alabamans tired of winning?)
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To: Kaslin

The University System in Georgia recently went to a similar “premium support” plan for its retirees. Each retiree gets a fixed amount of money to spend on medical insurance premiums (for Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplemental insurance). The immediate problem for many retires is that the premiums have risen by 10-15% per year, while the “voucher” amount has remained the same. Over time the “subsidy” will become a smaller fraction of the premium.


12 posted on 12/21/2017 12:09:37 PM PST by riverdawg
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To: riverdawg

Since the government won’t do the only thing it SHOULD do with regards to healthcare, which is breakup the monopolies and prosecute price fixing under existing Anti-Trust law, the only thing that will be done is cost shifting to the consumer to pay for ever increasing health insurance premiums.


13 posted on 12/21/2017 12:36:19 PM PST by Wolfie
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To: DoughtyOne

I’m a 63 yr old disabled Medicare member, covered by Martin’s Point Generations Advantage top-shelf plan. It costs me zero over the Medicare premium of $135, and it is the most efficient insurance operation that I’ve ever encountered.

The other major savings to be had in Medicare spending is re-vamping the purchasing procedure for DME and covered supplies to be more patient-centric. Medicare as a intermediary adds huge administrative cost.


14 posted on 12/21/2017 1:01:12 PM PST by pingman ("I ain't in no ways tired.." of WINNING!)
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To: ExTexasRedhead

Meanwhile, MILLIONS for the rotten carcasses that sit in the UN and the parasite states which send them!


15 posted on 12/21/2017 1:43:01 PM PST by ZULU (DITCH MITCH!!! DUMP RYAN!! DROP DEAD MCCAIN!! KIM FATTY the THIRD = Kim Jung Un)
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To: Okeydoker

“which if enacted will shift costs to seniors.“

Why shouldn’t it? They consume the vast majority of health care services.

L


16 posted on 12/21/2017 1:48:42 PM PST by Lurker (President Trump isn't our last chance. President Trump is THEIR last chance.)
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To: pingman

I’m glad that is working for you.

I know there are some good plans out there, I have one myself. It’s a low priced supplementary. I’m very happy with it.

It seems insurance companies and Medicare have provided some decent coordination. One thing I fear is that if Medicare falls away, what stops the future companies from ignoring the agreements we have now.

I’m fully covered for everything. What happens if a private company starts charging me $100 - $500 per month for what I’m already getting at a decent cost?

I still believe the best way to change Medicare, is to start privatizing people today, who are just entering the work-force.

It’s also my take, that one way or another the seniors who planned for a lifetime to get by now, will be sold out in a process that puts their coverage on the table today.


17 posted on 12/21/2017 2:13:24 PM PST by DoughtyOne (McConnell, Ryan, and the whole GOPe are dead to me. Are Alabamans tired of winning?)
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To: Kaslin

“There are some provider issues that we may be addressing as you know. Some providers in the Medicare field in some cases are getting overpaid.

Certainly not the physician providers. However, if this is the prevailing view, most independent physicians will drop out. Ironically, as providers drop out there will be competition for self pay patients and prices will fall.

Legislation to allow private contracting for Medicare providers and patients could help.


18 posted on 12/21/2017 3:48:09 PM PST by grumpygresh (When will Soros be brought to justice? Crush the vermin, crush the Left.)
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To: Lurker

Because they already paid into social security and medicare their entire work life. Do you think this money people paid for 40-50 years should just vanish?


19 posted on 12/21/2017 4:14:02 PM PST by Okeydoker
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To: Okeydoker

“Because they already paid into social security and medicare their entire work life.”

This is going to sound really harsh. But your generation fell for a lie.

You believed a bunch of politicians who said “If you give us some of your money now, we will give you much, much, more later. Honest. We promise.”

That trick NEVER works.

It never has worked.

It’s never going to work.

“Face it, Otter. You f***** up. You trusted us.” Animal House.

I know it hurts. And you probably hate me for throwing all in your face. But it’s the truth. Your money is gone. My money is gone. They spent it.

They spent it buying votes. Every f****** penny of it. It’s gone like a fart in the wind.

So, it’s time to face some really hard facts. There’s no way the US government can pay what’s been promised. The math doesn’t work. It was never going to work. It couldn’t.

The only real question is how we are going to deal with those facts.

Merry Christmas.

L


20 posted on 12/21/2017 6:16:54 PM PST by Lurker (President Trump isn't our last chance. President Trump is THEIR last chance.)
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