Tuesday, July 10, 2012

ObamaScare and MediScare

Much of the focus on Obamacare, especially of late, has been directed on the much debated individual mandate that everyone have health insurance. And consequently, the discussion has revolved around individually owned major medical coverage where the biggest impact on rates and benefits will be felt.     

But what about Medicare? The worker and taxpayer funded health insurance program for roughly 45 million people (mostly age 65 and older).

Much like the "final solution", many of the government experiments in health care will be performed on the aged and poor.
  • Obamacare makes massive changes to the program. Obamacare contains more than 160 provisions for Medicare that increase government’s control over the delivery of care, hit doctors with unsustainable payment cuts, and leave taxpayers with higher deficits.
  • Obamacare expands central planning and tightens price controls on providers. These recycled mechanisms have yet to show any success in driving down costs without harming patients’ access and quality of care. Even the program’s chief accountant says many Medicare providers cannot survive the cuts.
  •  On top of the severe payment cuts facing physicians that will threaten seniors’ access, the law weakens the doctor–patient relationship by linking payment not to patient outcomes but to adherence to government protocol.
Yes Virginia, the death panels, AKA the IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board) really will exist.
  • Obamacare’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation will conduct payment and delivery reform demonstrations with a goal of changing Medicare from fee-for-service to “capitated” or salaried payments. Unlike a pluralistic system of competitive plans, Medicare patients will have little or no control over whether or not they will be subject to these changes.
  • Obamacare squeezes an estimated $575 billion out of Medicare from provider payment cuts in its initial 10 years. But rather than plowing those savings back into Medicare to enhance the solvency of the program, the savings will be used to expand other Obamacare entitlements and programs.
This is called robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Our nations senior citizens will be robbed of their life savings in order to fund health insurance for the poor that are under age 65.

Poor is defined as a family of four making less than $80,000 or so.

And you thought change was going to be good. You probably still believe in fairy godmother's, don't you?

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