U.S. President Obama's Medicare administrator to resign

Xinhuanet News ^ | November 23th 2011 | Mu Xuequan

[Cardhu]

WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's administrator in Medicare agency, a key player in carrying out the healthcare reform, will resign after his nomination was blocked by Senate Republicans, local media reports quoted officials as saying on Wednesday.

The administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Don Berwick, will leave his post on Dec. 2, and his deputy Marilyn Tavenner, will take over, according to The Hill, a newspaper specializes in covering the Congress.

Berwick, a Harvard professor known for his work in improving health care system, was nominated in April, 2010, to help carry out the healthcare overhaul. The nomination was blocked in the Senate by Republicans because of political wrangles on Capitol Hill, with 42 GOP senators opposing the nomination.

Berwick was also known to favor European style medicare systems, especially Britain's. The position was a source of Republican opposition to his nomination. He also caused controversy with academic comments such as healthcare being, in definition, redistribution of wealth. Republicans accused him of advocating healthcare rationing, which Berwick denies.

[steelyourfaith]

"Berwick, a Harvard professor"

Berwick quotes:

• (7/1/08): "Any health care funding plan that is just equitable, civilized and humane must — must — redistribute wealth from the richer among us to the poorer and the less fortunate. Excellent health care is by definition redistributional."
• (7/1/08): "You could have let an unaccountable system play out in the darkness of the private enterprise instead of accepting that a politically accountable system must act in the harsh and admittedly sometimes very unfair daylight of the press, public debate, and political campaigning. You could have had a monstrous insurance industry of claims and rules and paper-pushing instead of using your tax base to provide a single route of finance."
• (June 2009) "The decision is not whether or not we will ration care. The decision will be whether we ration care with our eyes open."

This list of Harvard acadumbics grows.

[exDemMom]

Why shouldn’t the person who worked hard to get an education, and then to succeed, be able to access better healthcare?

The higher quality of goods and services available to people who work harder to earn more serves as an incentive to poorer people to better themselves. Well, that’s also if they aren’t brainwashed with what I call the “poverty attitude.”

[mazda77]

It is a Chinese news site taking the story from a Canadian one. Geez, objective reporting from those who know all about heath care delivery and death panels. I saw earlier that Obama has another name on the list for us to vet post haste.

[Vaduz]

Healthcare being, in definition, redistribution of wealth,
Well that sure smells like Obama’s line of thinking.

[hal ogen]

obamacare = stay healthy or die

[Vaduz]

Agree it’s Obama’s idea of options.

[yldstrk]

“healthcare reform” what a buzz word, meaning what?

As I told my dad, yeah, universal health care is a great idea, who can say otherwise? But you have to do it right. Obama care hasn’t accomplished that.

[mewzilla]

Berwick was also known to favor European style medicare systems, especially Britain's. 

Since we're talking about Medicare, a cautionary note to seniors on guys who love the system across The Pond, from 2008....

Old people with dementia have a duty to die and should be pushed towards death, says Baroness Warnock

[bert]

Now that he has resigned, come January 2, 2012, while congress is still in recess he can ( and will) be reappointed for another year