Posted on 03/01/2010 5:01:37 AM PST by reaganaut1
Natural experiments are rare in politics, but few are as instructive as the prototype for ObamaCare that Massachusetts set in motion in 2006. The bills for "universal coverage" are now coming due, and it appears the state political class is prepared to do lasting damage to one of America's top-flight health-care systems.
Last month, Democratic Governor Deval Patrick landed a neutron bomb, proposing hard price controls across almost all Massachusetts health care. State regulators already have the power to cap insurance premiums, which Mr. Patrick is activating. He also filed a bill that would give state regulators the power to review the rates of hospitals, physician groups and some specialty providers. Those that are deemed too high "shall be presumptively disapproved."
Mr. Patrick ad-libbed that he had "a whole bunch of pals here who are in the health-care field, and I saw the color drain out of their faces." Little wonder. The administered prices of Medicare and Medicaid already shift costs to private patients while below-cost reimbursement creates balance-sheet havoc among providers. Now the governor wants to import these distortions to save the state's heavily subsidized insurance program as costs explode.
It doesn't even count as an irony that former Governor Mitt Romney (like President Obama) sold this plan as a way to control spending. As with all new entitlements, the rolling cost crisis began almost immediately. For fiscal 2010 taxpayer costs are $47 million over budget, in part due to the recession, and while the $913 million Mr. Patrick requested for 2011 is a 5% increase over 2010, spending has grown on average 6.7% per year.
Meanwhile, average Massachusetts insurance premiums are now the highest in the nation. Since 2006, they've climbed at an annual rate of 30% in the individual market. Small business costs have increased by 5.8%.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
DEATH PANELS OPEN FOR BUSINESS IN MASSACHUSETTS
State plan may place limits on patients hospital options( Mass. RomneyCare )
"Romney Visits Nebraska, Talks Health Care [where he defends Romneycare]
"Severe doc shortage seen hiking wait time
The shortage is getting more severe"
"Massachusetts: the laboratory for ObamaCare
"1,000 cancer patients 'refused treatment'"
"Hospital patients 'left in agony'"
"Dem Congresswoman Admits Obama Health Care Plan Will Destroy Private Health Insurance Industry"
"Romneys mistreatments a sick man, as Gov. Mitt Romney meets a medical marijuana patient"
State plan may place limits on patients hospital options( Mass. RomneyCare )
Senior Care To Suffer Under Gov't Plan,Two-Thirds Of Practicing Physicians Say
Will the quality of care for seniors improve under health care reform currently being considered by Congress?
A recent IBD/TIPP Poll shows that a majority of physicians think the answer is no.
Of the 1,376 physicians who answered our survey, 65% said that government reform would lead to lower-quality care for seniors. "
Other than that Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play?
Weren't the legislative measures intended to control costs in concert with the RomneyCare provisions blocked by the Democrat legislature?
later read
OBAMANOMICS—TRICKLE DOWN DESTRUCTION of the economy
SET THEIR LOCAL AND DC LINES ON FIRE!
PLEASE ASK THEM TO REPEAL THE BIG NEW FEES in TRICARE for Life, the retired Military over 65 secondary health ins. which they passed in a DOD bill. They promised our Military these benefits, and our Military have earned them.
Bambi doesn’t keep his promises...so buyer beware!
Sen Scott Brown’s number is 202-224-4543
Capitol Hill switchboard is 202-224-3121
Lots of local demwit phone numbers on this thread
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2408217/posts
Rename, repackage, rewrite it a tad smaller, and sell another pig in a poke. NO COLAs for granny, retired Military or retired fed employees. BIG NEW fees for Tricare for Life retired over 65 Military’s secondary health ins.
(DOD bill already passed, delayed but goes into effect 2011 NEEDS TO BE REPEALED!
OBAMAs WAR ON SENIORS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2433867/posts/
New Dem mantra: Woof, woof eat dog food granny....ala let them eat cake. http://www.lifenews.com/bio3058.html
Friday, February 19, 2010
Obama says slight fix will extend Social Security
http://townhall.com/news/us/2010/02/19/obama_says_slight_fix_will_extend_social_security
Health Care Rationing for Seniors Another Problem in New Obama Plan http://www.lifenews.com/bio3058.html
Medicare tax may apply to investment income (ObamaCare tax hike)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2460988/posts
SOCIALIZED MED THREAD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2461394/posts
TRI CARE FOR LIFE This from a google search:
http://economicspolitics.blogspot.com/2009/05/tricare-for-life-is-obama-trying-to.html
This option would help reduce the costs of TFL, as well as costs for Medicare, by introducing minimum out-of pocket requirements for beneficiaries. Under this option, TFL would not cover any of the first $525 of an enrollees cost-sharing liabilities for calendar year 2011 and would limit coverage to 50 percent of the next $4,725 in Medicare cost sharing that the beneficiary incurred. (Because all further cost sharing would be covered by TFL, enrollees could not pay more than $2,888 in cost sharing in that year.) http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9925/12-18-HealthOptions.pdf
http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/hcva09/hcva110609-1.htm
Bill Would Restrict Veterans Health Care Options 11/06/09
Buyer and McKeon Offer Amendments to Protect Veterans and TRICARE Beneficiaries
Congress plans to block Tricare fee increases
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/military_tricarefees_blocked_100709w/
By Rick Maze - Staff writer, Oct 7, 2009
Tricare fee increases imposed last week by the Defense Department will be repealed by a provision of the compromise 2010 defense authorization bill unveiled Wednesday by House and Senate negotiators.
Snip The fee increases were announced on Sept. 30 and took effect on Oct. 1, but the defense bill, HR 2647, includes a provision barring any fee increases until the start of fiscal 2011.
Snip
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Bill Matz, president of the National Association for Uniformed Services, said the announcement of fee increases was shocking considering that the Obama administration promised earlier this year to hold off on any new fee Tricare fee increases until fiscal 2011.
President Obama and DoD assured NAUS and the entire military family earlier this year that there would rightly be no increases in any Tricare fees in fiscal 2010, Matz said. We took them at their word, and I cant believe that a co-pay increase like this was allowed to go forward, he added.
Might want to add the Tennessee socialized med failure to your list of links. This isn’t the first round of cuts they’ve had to make!
We have Tenncare in Tennessee, a form of Romney care and obamadeathcare
Do some reading, these are articles since Jan of 2010, older articles tell of waste, fraud, illegals, and earlier cuts to curtail rising cost.
TennCare cuts threaten Nashville General hospital | tennessean.com
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100204/NEWS0204/2040350/TennCare-cuts-threaten-Nashville-General-hospital
TennCare Cuts Under Way Now
http://www.memphisdailynews.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=47622
Call it coincidence or bad timing, but many physicians in Tennessee began taking a 14 percent cut for seeing TennCare patients on the same day Gov. Phil Bredesen announced deep cuts in health care spending.
TennCare Cuts May Close Some Hospitals
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/020710-tenncare-cuts-may-close-some-hospitals
TennCare Cuts May Close Some Hospitals
Proposed TennCare funding cuts would close The Med, hospital officials say (ONLY PUBLIC Hospital in Memphis)
By Toby Sells
Published Friday, January 29, 2010
http://m.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jan/29/med-cuts-would-kill-us/
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