Medicare Cuts (3)
Never underestimate the power of voters to influence their elected representatives. Congress voted this week to override the president's veto and to enact H.R. 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. This act will prevent the dreaded rate cuts and may actually provide some improvements to Medicare. Way to go!
John: thank you for tracking this Medicare issue.
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Good luck on your new blog!
My reply to your comment to the effect of "what will the doctors do if Medicaid reimbursement is cut even more" (or something like that) would be that the industry will just have to be dismantled and rebuilt entirely so that it's not rife with waste, fraud and abuse. Adding more money to the current healthcare system is like a single guy driving around Manhattan in a Hummer and filling the gas tank every other day at $200 per fill up. Only a few years ago it was pretty cool to drive a Hummer, now everyone stares with scorn and disgrace and you look like a fool. The insurers and the physicians and the billing agencies and the government built this monstrosity of a system and we just keep feeding it more and more money. Sort of like the war; how much more can we spend day after day after day? Spending everywhere is out of control and it's going to bring us down.
Anyway, that's my comment. Hope it helps. Pay a few bucks to get the GoDaddy banners off your site. Keep on posting!
Rick Bryan
New York, NY
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Thanks for your comment, Rick. (Sorry, but the GoDaddy banners will have to stay for now.)
My ultimate concern is not with the pocketbooks of doctors and providers, but with the ability of Medicare recipients to receive quality health care. If Medicare rates are cut, many doctors and providers whose primary concern is their pocketbooks will likely stop servicing Medicare patients. The health care system in this country is a mess, no doubt; and I agree that our health care system needs a major overhaul. It likely needs to be replaced by a whole different model. However, in the mean time, we cannot afford to risk cuts in care to match the cuts in funds. Until a more honest, more efficient, more effective and more equitable system of health care delivery can be put into place in the U.S., we are stuck with the current "monstrosity of a system." I fear that if we merely try to starve this monstrosity out of existence, those who depend upon it to provide payment for crucial medical care will likely suffer first and foremost.
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great work john ,wish i had you for attorney
michael pugliese
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