Don't sugar coat this shit. Medicare cuts to providers WILL trickle down

[Horse with no Name]

to providers NOT accepting it.

So although the cuts won't DIRECTLY affect Medicare recipients..they will be affected by not being able to seek certain services or possibly allow them to maintain the current doctor-patient relationships that they have.

Any cut to a Medicare provider is a cut to the recipient. I don't care WHAT talking point they try to purvey.

[AndyTiedye]

1. Private Insurance Deeply Discounts What They Pay Providers Too

It would be reasonable to compare what Medicare pays vs. what private insurers pay providers for the same stuff.
Does anybody have data on that?

If Medicare is paying more than the private insurers, they shouldn't be.
If they are paying substantially less, or would be under this proposal, that could be a problem.

[Abq_Sarah]

2. Medicare pays less

Than private insurers. That's been a bone of contention for quite a while.

[Horse with no Name]

3. The private insurers pretty much defer to the reimbursement rates of Medicare

which generally means that the negotiated rates are less.

However, insurance providers can also jack up their policy holders rates to cover the shortfalls on what the plan offers--you can't do that with Medicare.

[Donnachaidh]

17. nowhere NEAR the amount Medicare does now

And I know what I'm talking about, I'm ON Medicare and see the actual paperwork.

IF the doctors even submit claims to Medicare, they get a Fraction of the actual charge. To even attempt to use this argument is frigging LAUGHABLE.

Apples and oranges.

[astonamous]

4. A cut in reimbursements will affect employees of hospitals and medical

practices. I, for one, will be on the short list if the cuts are significant. I would guess that 80% of our patients are insured by medicare.

[Horse with no Name]

5. The hospital corporation that I work for said at a meeting a couple of years ago

that 70% of our business was reimbursed by Medicare.

[astonamous]

9. I wouldn't doubt that at all. I work for an ophthalmologist...

Our bread and butter is cataract surgery, glaucoma and medically necessary plastic surgery.

[dkf]

6. Well it's growing like crazy. What's up with that? Gotta do something.

[Divernan]

11. Stop sending $4.5 million dollar drones to attack on behalf of Big Oil and MIC

We have an aging population and medical costs will increase.

Stop throwing trillions of tax payers' dollars down the toilet to subsidize wars, and spend taxpayers' dollars on taxpayers!

[aquart]

7. Doctors didn't want socialized medicine.

Remember?

[McCamy Taylor]

8. But let's not shit coat the sugar either. Big cuts to defense. Small cuts to providers.

No cuts to recipients. Not bad for sharing the pain. Oh, and you know the AMA will lobby Congress until it is blue in the face to get the cuts rescinded later. It always happens that way.

[astonamous]

10. Yep, it's been a cake walk for the doctors. Especially those specializing in geriatric care...

Payment for cataract surgery has dropped over 14% in the last two years, 45% since 1996.

[Divernan]

12. Hey! It's not like us older Americans need to actually SEE anything!

As of 2008, more than 22 million Americans age 40 or older have cataracts. It is the number on age-related eye disease. More than 50% of people over age 55 have cataracts, which will need to be removed and replaced with intraocular lenses. Thank god for skilled opthamologists who can perform these surgeries.

[Divernan]

13. Got any links documenting specifically how big the cuts to defense will be?

I haven't seen anything specific, other than vague references to Obama and the joint chiefs getting together in 2012 to "work something out".

[woo me with science]

16. Obama's own budget for next year increases war spending. nt

[daa]

14. What bull I read on aretiree board a retiree moved to Seattle

and cannot find a doctor to take him on Medicare.

[Horse with no Name]

15. The AMA is a RW tool these days.

They quit worrying about patients long ago.

[Donnachaidh]

18. Small cuts to providers will probably close more doors to recipients

If you live in a major US city - just call around and ask doctors if they take patients who only have medicare.

You won't find many. When I live in LA I had to travel an hour and a half out of my area to find a doctor who would take medicare.

This is wrong on so many levels.

[LaydeeBug]

19. But did you SEE HOW FLEXIBLE he was when he BENT OVER for the other side? He's just amazing!

He threw the underlings under the bus and then stood up and said he made a "tough choice" between seniors and corporations.

:eyes:

[steve2470]

20. k&r nt

[mmonk]

21. Yes or pay it out of pocket. We can't control the rising costs

with the lack of reform on the private side where the problem is.

[WinkyDink]

22. Doctors are already not accepting Medicare patients because of "low" reimbursement.

Not suggesting Drs are starving......

[Horse with no Name]

23. They aren't starving and they aren't going to start.

Therein lies the problem.

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[loyalsister]

24. That's a reasonable concern for us all

But, let's not forget that the health care reform law kicks in in 2014. The idea is that it will change many of the dynamics in how much health care will cost. Exactly how is will work remains to be seen, but HCR will definitely have some influence.

[Tatiana]

25. Yep. It's just like what happened with Medicaid.

In many areas, hospitals and private medical providers(both non-profit and for-profit) will not accept new patients who are on Medicaid. Some places establish waiting lists and will perform a specific number of surguries for Medicaid patients. However, many of the families I worked with sometimes carpooled or took Greyhound buses to get to states (like Wisconsin and Iowa) with providers that would accept new patients with Medicaid.

It's ridiculous and a disgrace. I can't even fathom having to put seniors in a similar position.

Shameful!

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sad sally]

28. Recipients in skilled nursing facilities will feel the affects very soon.

Anybody with a grandparent, parent or disabled loved one in a nursing home who depends on the help you get from Medicare, look out. This is a business and losses will be made up by cutting workforce and services.

on Aug 1, 2011 1:03pm EDT
(Reuters) - Shares of skilled nursing facilities plunged on Monday, after the U.S. government announced final reimbursement rate cuts that confirmed the market's worst fears, with little reprieve in sight.

On Friday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) cut 2012 payments for skilled nursing facilities by 11.1 percent, or $3.87 billion.

-snip

There was a broad sell-off in healthcare stocks on fears that the debt-ceiling deal to be voted on by the U.S. Congress would cut healthcare spending for federal programs such as Medicare.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/01/us-skillednursing-shares-idUSTRE7704BO20110801?du

[KoKo]

29. Exactly and thanks for posting this. K&R!