Free Republic

When will John Boehner learn that a bill is bad news if Nancy Pelosi supports it, President Obama wants to sign it, and the press sings its praises? That’s precisely what he had on his hands with H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, a.k.a. the “Doc Fix.” Yet today we find him basking in the approbation of the Beltway establishment for getting this bill passed. This “fix” will add billions to the federal deficit, replace an unworkable price control system with a worse scheme that will dictate how doctors practice medicine and place financial burdens on seniors....

Once again, the American Medical Association is calling on patients and doctors to barrage Congress with pleas to permanently end the Clinton-Gingrich Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula for cutting Medicare costs. The proposed tiny yearly “updates” (0.5%) for 5 years are even less than the inadequate Social Security cost-of-living increases. The cost of a postage stamp, for example, increased by 6.5% in January. “How can the AMA possibly agree to a virtual 5-year fee freeze when the value of the dollar could deteriorate drastically?” Orient asks. AAPS argues that Medicare can calculate reimbursements however it likes, but the fee should...