Posted on 03/18/2010 3:34:11 PM PDT by Retired Chemist
They will pass this thing and say that all the bad cuts came from repulican ideas they adopted.
bttt
The Medicare and Medicare Advantage cuts will total almost $500 billion, and there has never been, is not now and never will be the political will to cut these benefits. Newt and the Repubs tried to slow the growth of Medicare in the 1990’s and were skewered by Clinton and the Dems. The Repubs were doing the right thing, but politically it was disastrous. History has a way of repeating itself.
Medicare Advantage rates were cut for 2010. The way they are postponing the fix of the physician fee schedule reduces MA 2011 payment rates by several percentage points. Reduction of MA payment rates is a given. The extent of the reduction is open to debate. In general, I agree with you that gutting Medicare is political dynamite. The problem is we are out of money and out of time. Pretty soon, we are going to find out it’s not so easy to borrow $1T+ for years on end, and then the S is going to hit the F. Unti then, they will try to squeeze providers, increase means testing (means testing has already crept into Medicare in that Part B premiums vary based on income level), and do whatever else it takes.
We’re on the same side FRiend, but despite our fiscal mess I still believe the Dems, and the Repubs for that matter, will never have the courage to vote for the actual cuts in the future. It’s political dynamite x 1000.
Not surprising. Do you remember the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act (or similar name) in 1989? It provided catastrophic coverage for seniors and charged them a premium for it. I remember footage of an elderly woman chasing Rostenkowski (Ways and Means chairman at the time) down the street. The bill was repealed shortly thereafter. So, I hear your point. The issue now is will they be forced to do it for financial reasons. I still think they will cut MA rates (the Dems are chomping at the bit to do this), but cuts to regular FFS benefits would be much more explosive. They will only do that as a last resort. Instead, they will try to squeeze providers. The reform bill does this in a number of ways.
This is the biggest labyrinth I’ve ever seen. It’s twisted with massive tax increases, new fees for service, planned cuts in Medicare, phony savings and accounting (to say the least), 10 years of taxation and only 6 years of expenditures and last but not least a host of unfunded mandates. Why is it that Dems love unfunded mandates so much?
I don’t need much tinfoil on my hat to say that this bill looks like a trojan horse to usher in a single payer system.
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