Democrats Target GOP's Medicare Changes

[cal04]

Source: Associated Press

House Democrats are launching a drive this week to roll back years of Republican changes to Medicare, aiming to dramatically scale back federal subsidies to HMOs that cover millions of seniors.

The same legislation contains several provisions to bolster traditional Medicare, sweetening the payment system for doctors, promising free colon cancer screening for all beneficiaries and injecting new funding to defray costs for the low-income.

Rep. Fortney (Pete) Stark, D-Calif., the bill's principal author, dismissed Republican claims that the measure would destroy the private Medicare plans that insure eight million seniors. "It eliminates the subsidy" that raises the government's cost higher than it is under traditional Medicare, he said. "If they (HMOs) can't make it at 100 percent of fee-for-service, they obviously shouldn't be in business."

Ironically, in their first major Medicare measure since taking power in January, Democratic House leaders call for relatively few changes in a controversial, stand-alone prescription drug program now in its second year.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070730/ap_on_go_co/democrats_health_care_2

[Cant trust em]

1. Funny republican ironies

If you give money to a corporation, it's called a subsidy and you are practical and clear-headed.

If you give money to a human being, it's called welfare and you are a bleeding-heart, liberal, hippie, communist.

[badgervan]

2. Corporate Welfare....

has always dwarfed social welfare in this country. Not even close.

[gratuitous]

4. Yeah, what happened to the magic of the free market?

Seems that for their overrich donors, no protections are too great. Imagine the shame and loss of America's standing in the world should an insurance company go out of business!

[Cant trust em]

5. The best part of this story was...

"If they (HMOs) can't make it at 100 percent of fee-for-service, they obviously shouldn't be in business."

[fasttense]

3. We take care of corporations here in the US. People? Not so much. n/t

[MiserableFailure]

6. The Medicare reimbursement rates are shitty for doctors

I know more and more doctors are not taking it now. The paperwork is easier than for private insurance companies but the reimbursement rates are just too low and not keeping pace like they should be. if people want to improve care in the Medicare system, then those are the first thing that have to go up(the article does mention it), to bring more doctors into the system and draw some back that have left.

Now some people can say that doctors are greedy, blah blah, but if a doctor can make money filling his day with cash and private health insurance patients, that's what a lot are gonna do, even if medicare doesn't require much hassle compared to the private health insurance paperwork.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=060502&ID=s1158862&cat=section.commentary