House wants: Medicaid premiums, increased co-payments and to trim benefits

[dajoki]

NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/30/politics/30health.html?th&emc=th

Congress Weighs Big Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare

By ROBERT PEAR
Published: October 30, 2005

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 - Congressional committees have proposed substantial cutbacks in Medicaid and Medicare, the nation's largest health insurance programs, which together cover more than one-fourth of all Americans.

The two houses of Congress are expected to approve the changes in the next two weeks as part of competing bills to slow the growth of federal spending. Negotiators from the two chambers would then try to work out the differences.

The House bill would take all of its savings from Medicaid, the program for low-income people, while leaving Medicare, the program for those 65 and older and the disabled, untouched, as the Bush administration wants. By contrast, the Senate bill would squeeze savings from both programs.

Under the House bill, states would gain sweeping authority to charge premiums, increase co-payments and trim benefits for Medicaid recipients, so benefit packages would look more like the private insurance provided by employers.

[CountAllVotes]

1. see last night's thread on this subject

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1887357

:dem: :kick:

[dajoki]

3. agree with last post...

they are corrupt, but that's nothing new, we all know that.

[Benhurst]

2. Why can't the American people have national health care

such as that found in every other industrial nation on earth?

And why do we continue to provide lavish health care for our public "servants" in Washington?

The World's Only Superpower. Yeah. Sure.

If it weren't so sad, I'd join the rest of the world in laughing.

[dajoki]

4. i'm with you...

it is extremely sad.