Do you feel we should end Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid?

[onecut39]

Again: You are responsible for you. Whatever choices you may have made, and whatever the results of those choices, they were -your- choices. If your choices led you to retiring later or with less money, the oly person responsible for that is you, and you have no right to expect others to make up for that.

And so, rather than force -other- people into a condition of involuntary servitude to make up for poor choices, we hold people responsible for those choices and force them to mke do with the results of those choices the best that they can.

Now, you -always- have the option to give to charity to help others - but that's YOUR choice.

Ok. You're clearly very, very confused. So let me break it down more.

Assume SS goes away. People have their 401ks, IRAs and Pensions, all of which invest in the stock market. The market crashes, like in 2008, and everyone loses 50% of their retirement account, like in 2008.

Are those people responsible for their retirement decisions? Yes. Absolutely. We all agree on this. No one but you seems to be arguing that.

Now that that is cleared up, what will these people do? They have two options. 1) Retire poor, or 2) Wait to retire. Again, whatever decision they make they are responsible for, no one is disagreeing on that.

Both options are terrible for our economy. Option 1 results in a generation of retirees with very weak purchasing power, which is not good. Option 2 results in workers not retiring and therefore not opening jobs up for younger workers.

Ok. Now that you know what we're talking about, here comes the question.

How should the Government and the Country handle this hit on our economy?

Wait .. wait ... remember, no one is arguing responsibility. Just a practical matter of how do we handle the hit to our economy.

Good luck.

obummer stole 500 billion dollars from medicare,, so cry us a fucking river whydonchya? what good does it do to put money into the system for 40 years if obummmer is going to steal it? how is that bit of compassion working for ya?

Geez! Don't nobody know nothing?

The 500 billion was not taken from medicare. It was taken from the medical advantage PRIVATE INSURANCE PLANS.

FYI (and you need it)

Medicare stays exactly the same. Nothing happens to it or its budget.

When I enroll in a medicare advantage plan (private insurance) medicare gives that private insurer "X" number of dollars per month for me. The private insurer then agrees to be totally responsible for my health care under the terms of medicare and the advantage plan.

The 500 billion came from that "X" number of dollars. I have a medicare advantage plan. In the wake of the bill my premium increased by 20 bucks a month. So you see I and others who have private insurance are paying this bill. I have no objection. The medicare advantage companies, at least in my state, are rolling in cash.

But that's another story.

 

[onecut39]

Do you feel we should end Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid?

Yes or no?

If you say yes, then what happens to the people who depend on it? If you say no, then do you disagree with your leaders and if you do, then why you support them?

I say no...
I say we should find a way to pay for them.
The clock is ticking on these programs and as they are now we will have more people
withdrawing on these programs then paying in.

The left rather then try to fix these programs would rather bury their heads in the sand
and tell lies about the republicans who are trying to fix them.

Yours is a sensible observation and I fully agree.

Social Security is neither a giveaway nor an "entitlement" program. I am collecting Social Security but my employers and I paid into the program all my working life. If I live long enough I might receive more than was contributed but there are many who contribute for many years and die before age 62, therefore never collecting a penny from the fund.

One way to increase input to the Social Security fund is to eliminate the contribution cap. Another is to impose a means test based on one's net worth. In my case my monthly disbursement would be reduced by a hundred or two which wouldn't hurt me at all. And some retirees are so well off they wouldn't need any disbursement from the program at all.

The cost of Medicare for all could be greatly relieved by eliminating the medical bureaucracy and opening walk-in clinics staffed by former military medics, EMTs, and nurse practicioners who could effectively deal with the vast majority of Emergency Room cases and other minor medical complaints that presently impose on a physician's time. The main objective should be getting rid of the medical insurance corporations.

That was worth a rep and a couple of attaboys!

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Just give everyone a one time choice to opt in or out of these programs.

Ok, but again, how do you address a generation of retirees who have their retirement accounts wiped out in a stock market crash?

Why is there any need to address it? Its about personal responsibility. Ultimately, its up to you to look out for yourself, not me.

 

[ScreamingEagle]

Ok. You're clearly very, very confused. So let me break it down more.

Assume SS goes away. People have their 401ks, IRAs and Pensions, all of which invest in the stock market. The market crashes, like in 2008, and everyone loses 50% of their retirement account, like in 2008.

Are those people responsible for their retirement decisions? Yes. Absolutely. We all agree on this. No one but you seems to be arguing that.

Now that that is cleared up, what will these people do? They have two options. 1) Retire poor, or 2) Wait to retire. Again, whatever decision they make they are responsible for, no one is disagreeing on that.

Both options are terrible for our economy. Option 1 results in a generation of retirees with very weak purchasing power, which is not good. Option 2 results in workers not retiring and therefore not opening jobs up for younger workers.

Ok. Now that you know what we're talking about, here comes the question.

How should the Government and the Country handle this hit on our economy?

Wait .. wait ... remember, no one is arguing responsibility. Just a practical matter of how do we handle the hit to our economy.

Good luck.

obummer stole 500 billion dollars from medicare,, so cry us a fucking river whydonchya? what good does it do to put money into the system for 40 years if obummmer is going to steal it? how is that bit of compassion working for ya?

Geez! Don't nobody know nothing?

The 500 billion was not taken from medicare. It was taken from the medical advantage PRIVATE INSURANCE PLANS.

FYI (and you need it)

Medicare stays exactly the same. Nothing happens to it or its budget.

When I enroll in a medicare advantage plan (private insurance) medicare gives that private insurer "X" number of dollars per month for me. The private insurer then agrees to be totally responsible for my health care under the terms of medicare and the advantage plan.

The 500 billion came from that "X" number of dollars. I have a medicare advantage plan. In the wake of the bill my premium increased by 20 bucks a month. So you see I and others who have private insurance are paying this bill. I have no objection. The medicare advantage companies, at least in my state, are rolling in cash.

But that's another story.

in other words seniors are getting less and already PAYING MORE under Obummercare....
(and dims complain about the Ryan plan....)

also......what about the upcoming boomer seniors......didn't they pay for that half trillion to fund their medicare programs....whether earmarked for the Advantage program or not?
what gives Obama the right to take it from them and spend medicare money on his new program....?

....besides BO is robbing more than just the Advantage plan.....he's also taking $ from medicare hospital and nursing services, etc. This means facilities will operate more and more in the red and they will limit access to seniors or just close their doors.

 

[Mac1958]

Geez! Don't nobody know nothing?

The 500 billion was not taken from medicare. It was taken from the medical advantage PRIVATE INSURANCE PLANS.

FYI (and you need it)

Medicare stays exactly the same. Nothing happens to it or its budget.

When I enroll in a medicare advantage plan (private insurance) medicare gives that private insurer "X" number of dollars per month for me. The private insurer then agrees to be totally responsible for my health care under the terms of medicare and the advantage plan.

The 500 billion came from that "X" number of dollars. I have a medicare advantage plan. In the wake of the bill my premium increased by 20 bucks a month. So you see I and others who have private insurance are paying this bill. I have no objection. The medicare advantage companies, at least in my state, are rolling in cash.

But that's another story.

Funny how facts are avoided by the dittoheads.

By the way, Humana and United are the two biggest players in the Medicare Advantage space. In the two years since Obamacare passed, HUM is up 25%, UNH is up 54%. They're doing fine with significantly lower Medicare reimbursement, the MA plans are still very robust, it's working out quite well. They've both moved away from PFFS plans, which were much more costly, and toward PPO and HMO plans.

I have to train on this crap as part of my profession. I don't get my information from partisan radio blabbers.

This is going to take a public/private partnership such as the one I've described, despite what Rush says, despite what the dittoheads repeat, despite how much they mock people who are suffering.

.

 

[Douger]

No. I feel you should abolish the military.

 

[ScreamingEagle]

Geez! Don't nobody know nothing?

The 500 billion was not taken from medicare. It was taken from the medical advantage PRIVATE INSURANCE PLANS.

FYI (and you need it)

Medicare stays exactly the same. Nothing happens to it or its budget.

When I enroll in a medicare advantage plan (private insurance) medicare gives that private insurer "X" number of dollars per month for me. The private insurer then agrees to be totally responsible for my health care under the terms of medicare and the advantage plan.

The 500 billion came from that "X" number of dollars. I have a medicare advantage plan. In the wake of the bill my premium increased by 20 bucks a month. So you see I and others who have private insurance are paying this bill. I have no objection. The medicare advantage companies, at least in my state, are rolling in cash.

But that's another story.

Funny how facts are avoided by the dittoheads.

By the way, Humana and United are the two biggest players in the Medicare Advantage space. In the two years since Obamacare passed, HUM is up 25%, UNH is up 54%. They're doing fine with significantly lower Medicare reimbursement, the MA plans are still very robust, it's working out quite well. They've both moved away from PFFS plans, which were much more costly, and toward PPO and HMO plans.

I have to train on this crap as part of my profession. I don't get my information from partisan radio blabbers.

This is going to take a public/private partnership such as the one I've described, despite what Rush says, despite what the dittoheads repeat, despite how much they mock people who are suffering.

.

5/10/12

Today, about 25 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans.

In a report I prepared with Robert Book for the Heritage Foundation, we found that Obamacare will cut Medicare Advantage payment rates by an average of $3,700 per beneficiary in 2017, or 27 percent below the payment rates that would have been made without Obamacare. These cuts will translate directly into higher health-care costs for seniors. Seniors who remain in Medicare Advantage will face higher costs, because the cuts will force the plans to cut back on the benefits they offer and to charge higher cost-sharing for the services they do cover. Further, seniors who will be pushed out of Medicare Advantage and back into the traditional program will lose entirely the added benefits provided by most Medicare Advantage plans. None of this is captured in Fidelity’s analysis.

This is no small matter. Seniors losing $3,700 per year from enrollment in Medicare at 65 until their deaths at age 77 or 78 would lose about $44,000 in benefits over their lifetimes, all because of Obamacare’s cuts.

Obamacare Hurts Seniors - James C. Capretta - National Review Online

 

[onecut39]

obummer stole 500 billion dollars from medicare,, so cry us a fucking river whydonchya? what good does it do to put money into the system for 40 years if obummmer is going to steal it? how is that bit of compassion working for ya?

Geez! Don't nobody know nothing?

The 500 billion was not taken from medicare. It was taken from the medical advantage PRIVATE INSURANCE PLANS.

FYI (and you need it)

Medicare stays exactly the same. Nothing happens to it or its budget.

When I enroll in a medicare advantage plan (private insurance) medicare gives that private insurer "X" number of dollars per month for me. The private insurer then agrees to be totally responsible for my health care under the terms of medicare and the advantage plan.

The 500 billion came from that "X" number of dollars. I have a medicare advantage plan. In the wake of the bill my premium increased by 20 bucks a month. So you see I and others who have private insurance are paying this bill. I have no objection. The medicare advantage companies, at least in my state, are rolling in cash.

But that's another story.

in other words seniors are getting less and already PAYING MORE under Obummercare....
(and dims complain about the Ryan plan....)

also......what about the upcoming boomer seniors......didn't they pay for that half trillion to fund their medicare programs....whether earmarked for the Advantage program or not?
what gives Obama the right to take it from them and spend medicare money on his new program....?

....besides BO is robbing more than just the Advantage plan.....he's also taking $ from medicare hospital and nursing services, etc. This means facilities will operate more and more in the red and they will limit access to seniors or just close their doors.

I am not getting less. My medicare advantage program gives me the best healthcare of my life.

Do you have any idea what at private insurance contracts with hospitals look like?

In my case, during my hospitalizations, Blue Cross paid about 40% of the bill that was sent to me by the hospital. PAID IN FULL!! That is what the contract calls for.

Do you think the hospital was losing money on their blue cross contract?

You poor innocent!

 

[Oddball]

Funny how facts are avoided by the dittoheads.

Not everyone who disagrees with socialized medical services, Medicare, Medicaid and/or your jimmied "facts" is a dittohead, Skeezix.

True story.

 

[Full-Auto]

"They just have to pay for services rendered." Oh, that's all.

Okay, so we're going to pretend that millions of Americans don't avoid getting preventive and diagnostic services done because they can't afford it. We're going to ignorethat many people can't get health insurance because they can't afford it, can't pass underwriting or both. We're going to pretend that these people can just write a check for services rendered.

We're also going to ignore the fact that the diseases and conditions that many people have could have been treated much more cost-effectively if they had been caught earlier if those people could have had access to preventive and diagnostic services.

You're goddamn right I'm a cheapskate. I'm sick and tired of paying vastly inflated health care premiums and costs, inflated due to the fact that I'm paying for other people's treatment. Inflated due to the fact that so many people can't afford preventive and diagnostic services and end up costing system and me far more than they should.

If you want to keep chanting "socialism", quoting Rush and paying a shitload more than you should be for health care, that's your call. I'm a cheapskate, and I think this simple-minded lunacy.

.

The people cant afford it.......................So we as a collective must steal from others to pay for it.

Well isnt that damn impressive. We need an affordable care act.............


Oh wait!!!! One that actually makes it affordable............

yeah, fuck it....let 'em die...guess Grayson was right(this goes out to Mr."take a fuckin' pill" too).

go fuck yourselves you selfish dickheads.

There is a thing called liberty...........

I have or used to I should say the option of choosing what type of health insurance I would want to carry if any. I opted in. Have paid heavy premiums........ So now the liberals come along and say this other stuff should be free.

For who?????? Again with picking winners and losers. You idiots are spending us into very ugly times.

I dont take issue with helping the less fortunate, I do take issue with the piss poor management democrats insist on.


Will you ever get a damn clue?

 

[Listening]

Ho hum....

You can find this on the net. It was from 2009. Of course Mayo didn't drop all those seniors...you can bet there was negotiating on that one.

What constitutes a "loss" is also not defined. Was it a real dollar loss or was it an opportunity cost.

President Obama last year praised the Mayo Clinic as a "classic example" of how a health-care provider can offer "better outcomes" at lower cost. Then what should Americans think about the famous Minnesota medical center's decision to take fewer Medicare patients?

Specifically, Mayo said last week it will no longer accept Medicare patients at one of its primary care clinics in Arizona. Mayo said the decision is part of a two-year pilot program to determine if it should also drop Medicare patients at other facilities in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota, which serve more than 500,000 seniors.

Mayo says it lost $840 million last year treating Medicare patients, the result of the program's low reimbursement rates. Its hospital and four clinics in Arizona—including the Glendale facility—lost $120 million. Providers like Mayo swallow some of these Medicare losses, while also shifting the cost by charging more to private patients and insurers.

Of course, only governments can lose that much money and pretend they don't have to change. "Mayo Clinic loses a substantial amount of money every year due to the reimbursement schedule under Medicare," the institution said. "Decades of underfunding and paying for volume rather than value in Medicare have led us to this decision."

 

[Listening]

Ok. You're clearly very, very confused. So let me break it down more.

Assume SS goes away. People have their 401ks, IRAs and Pensions, all of which invest in the stock market. The market crashes, like in 2008, and everyone loses 50% of their retirement account, like in 2008.

Are those people responsible for their retirement decisions? Yes. Absolutely. We all agree on this. No one but you seems to be arguing that.

Now that that is cleared up, what will these people do? They have two options. 1) Retire poor, or 2) Wait to retire. Again, whatever decision they make they are responsible for, no one is disagreeing on that.

Both options are terrible for our economy. Option 1 results in a generation of retirees with very weak purchasing power, which is not good. Option 2 results in workers not retiring and therefore not opening jobs up for younger workers.

Ok. Now that you know what we're talking about, here comes the question.

How should the Government and the Country handle this hit on our economy?

Wait .. wait ... remember, no one is arguing responsibility. Just a practical matter of how do we handle the hit to our economy.

Good luck.

obummer stole 500 billion dollars from medicare,, so cry us a fucking river whydonchya? what good does it do to put money into the system for 40 years if obummmer is going to steal it? how is that bit of compassion working for ya?

Geez! Don't nobody know nothing?

The 500 billion was not taken from medicare. It was taken from the medical advantage PRIVATE INSURANCE PLANS.

FYI (and you need it)

Medicare stays exactly the same. Nothing happens to it or its budget.

When I enroll in a medicare advantage plan (private insurance) medicare gives that private insurer "X" number of dollars per month for me. The private insurer then agrees to be totally responsible for my health care under the terms of medicare and the advantage plan.

The 500 billion came from that "X" number of dollars. I have a medicare advantage plan. In the wake of the bill my premium increased by 20 bucks a month. So you see I and others who have private insurance are paying this bill. I have no objection. The medicare advantage companies, at least in my state, are rolling in cash.

But that's another story.

Rolling in cash ?

Please share a link.

I'd like to see their profit as a function of how much we spend on medical care.

 

[Mac1958]

.

National Review and the Heritage Foundation. Ho boy.

Even with the cuts, there are many Medicare Advantage plans that still have a $0 premium with robust benefits, and these are plans that do not allow for any health underwriting.

Imagine if Medicare Advantage Plans and Medicare Supplements were available to everyone at all ages, with the same waived underwriting, spreading the risk among healthier people. That would significantly lower net costs to insurers.

Imagine if these plans were all individual and portable, taking the entire health insurance burden off of our country's employers, freeing them to utilize those funds elsewhere.

Imagine if everyone could choose among a menu of Medicare Advantage plans that function like a PPO or HMO, or Medicare Supplements that essentially close all gaps in Medicare coverage.

Imagine unleashing the insurance industry to concentrate on just Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Supplements, and all the cool extra benefits they could come up with for their millions of new clients.

Imagine if a foundational Medicare chassis were available for everyone, allowing people to get regular preventive treatment and easy access to diagnostic treatment, and how much money that would save the health care system in the long run.

Imagine if all plans adopted Value Based Insurance Design (VBID), which eliminates co-pays for specific medications and provides education on those conditions, a strategy that a recent study showed decreased emergency room visits by 70% and hospital visits by 80% of those patients.

Lower costs, full access, improved outcomes. Wow, imagine that.

Oops, Rush says no, so I know the answers I'll get here.

.

 

[ScreamingEagle]

Geez! Don't nobody know nothing?

The 500 billion was not taken from medicare. It was taken from the medical advantage PRIVATE INSURANCE PLANS.

FYI (and you need it)

Medicare stays exactly the same. Nothing happens to it or its budget.

When I enroll in a medicare advantage plan (private insurance) medicare gives that private insurer "X" number of dollars per month for me. The private insurer then agrees to be totally responsible for my health care under the terms of medicare and the advantage plan.

The 500 billion came from that "X" number of dollars. I have a medicare advantage plan. In the wake of the bill my premium increased by 20 bucks a month. So you see I and others who have private insurance are paying this bill. I have no objection. The medicare advantage companies, at least in my state, are rolling in cash.

But that's another story.

in other words seniors are getting less and already PAYING MORE under Obummercare....
(and dims complain about the Ryan plan....)

also......what about the upcoming boomer seniors......didn't they pay for that half trillion to fund their medicare programs....whether earmarked for the Advantage program or not?
what gives Obama the right to take it from them and spend medicare money on his new program....?

....besides BO is robbing more than just the Advantage plan.....he's also taking $ from medicare hospital and nursing services, etc. This means facilities will operate more and more in the red and they will limit access to seniors or just close their doors.

I am not getting less. My medicare advantage program gives me the best healthcare of my life.

Do you have any idea what at private insurance contracts with hospitals look like?

In my case, during my hospitalizations, Blue Cross paid about 40% of the bill that was sent to me by the hospital. PAID IN FULL!! That is what the contract calls for.

Do you think the hospital was losing money on their blue cross contract?

You poor innocent!

have you considered that the cuts have not kicked in yet........? they begin October 15 (right before the election so very few voters will know anything about it)

who's really the "poor innocent" here.....?

Obamacare Hurts Seniors | TheLedger.com

 

[Mac1958]

Funny how facts are avoided by the dittoheads.

Not everyone who disagrees with socialized medical services, Medicare, Medicaid and/or your jimmied "facts" is a dittohead, Skeezix.

True story.

Jimmied facts?

Examples?

.

 

[ScreamingEagle]

.

National Review and the Heritage Foundation. Ho boy.

Even with the cuts, there are many Medicare Advantage plans that still have a $0 premium with robust benefits, and these are plans that do not allow for any health underwriting.

Imagine if Medicare Advantage Plans and Medicare Supplements were available to everyone at all ages, with the same waived underwriting, spreading the risk among healthier people. That would significantly lower net costs to insurers.

Imagine if these plans were all individual and portable, taking the entire health insurance burden off of our country's employers, freeing them to utilize those funds elsewhere.

Imagine if everyone could choose among a menu of Medicare Advantage plans that function like a PPO or HMO, or Medicare Supplements that essentially close all gaps in Medicare coverage.

Imagine unleashing the insurance industry to concentrate on just Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Supplements, and all the cool extra benefits they could come up with.

Imagine if a foundational Medicare chassis were available for everyone, allowing people to get regular preventive treatment and easy access to diagnostic treatment, and how much money that would save the health care system in the long run.

Imagine if all plans adopted Value Based Insurance Design (VBID), which eliminates co-pays for specific medications and provides education on those conditions, a strategy that a recent study showed decreased emergency room visits by 70% and hospital visits by 80% of those patients.

Lower costs, full access, improved outcomes. Wow, imagine that.

Oops, Rush says no, so I know the answers I'll get here.

.

...are you imagining you're a medical visionary form of John Lennon........?

 

[Mac1958]

.

National Review and the Heritage Foundation. Ho boy.

Even with the cuts, there are many Medicare Advantage plans that still have a $0 premium with robust benefits, and these are plans that do not allow for any health underwriting.

Imagine if Medicare Advantage Plans and Medicare Supplements were available to everyone at all ages, with the same waived underwriting, spreading the risk among healthier people. That would significantly lower net costs to insurers.

Imagine if these plans were all individual and portable, taking the entire health insurance burden off of our country's employers, freeing them to utilize those funds elsewhere.

Imagine if everyone could choose among a menu of Medicare Advantage plans that function like a PPO or HMO, or Medicare Supplements that essentially close all gaps in Medicare coverage.

Imagine unleashing the insurance industry to concentrate on just Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Supplements, and all the cool extra benefits they could come up with.

Imagine if a foundational Medicare chassis were available for everyone, allowing people to get regular preventive treatment and easy access to diagnostic treatment, and how much money that would save the health care system in the long run.

Imagine if all plans adopted Value Based Insurance Design (VBID), which eliminates co-pays for specific medications and provides education on those conditions, a strategy that a recent study showed decreased emergency room visits by 70% and hospital visits by 80% of those patients.

Lower costs, full access, improved outcomes. Wow, imagine that.

Oops, Rush says no, so I know the answers I'll get here.

.

...are you imagining you're a medical visionary form of John Lennon........?

I keep offering ideas and specifics, tactics taken from both sides of the political spectrum, based on industry knowledge I utilize every day. You keep offering insults and standard rhetoric.

Perfect, thanks.

.

 

[Greenbeard]

What constitutes a "loss" is also not defined. Was it a real dollar loss or was it an opportunity cost.

Mayo is doing an experiment with its Arizona facility. As of January of this year there are still no results to speak of from that experiment:

The Mayo Clinic stopped accepting Medicare at its five-physician practice in Glendale, Ariz., two years ago. Officials said at the time they would analyze financial results of the move early this year.

No results yet. Mayo spokesman James McVeigh said in an e-mail: “Our plan is to continue to study the program, collect data and review the impact on our patients.”

Mayo officials, who were unavailable at deadline, need more time to analyze how the Arizona clinic's decision to drop Medicare affected its finances, patient satisfaction and the overall number of patients, he said.

That said, it's a rather limited experiment:

Mayo Clinic operates in Arizona, Iowa, Florida, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The clinic has made no plans to expand a policy of no Medicare from the single Arizona primary-care clinic, McVeigh said.

“At the outset of this program, we were looking at a number of different issues but had never made any plans to expand the Medicare opt-out program beyond this small, five-physician family practice in Glendale,” McVeigh said, “and that has not changed.”

So the broader point you continually try to make from this simply isn't supported by this pilot. Certainly not at this stage.

President Obama last year praised the Mayo Clinic as a "classic example" of how a health-care provider can offer "better outcomes" at lower cost. Then what should Americans think about the famous Minnesota medical center's decision to take fewer Medicare patients?

The point isn't to send everyone to the Mayo, it's to make more Mayos. Which is what the new payment incentives in Medicare to enable and encourage the sort of delivery system innovations that make places like Mayo so good are doing:

July 10, 2012 WASHINGTON – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Monday that 89 new accountable care organizations (ACOs) have joined the Medicare Shared Savings Program as of July 1.

The 89 new organizations join 27 other ACOs that were announced last April to participate in the Shared Savings Program.

According to HHS, this brings the total number of federally sponsored ACOs to 154, including the 32 ACOs participating in the testing of the Pioneer ACO Model by CMS' Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) announced last December, and six Physician Group Practice Transition Demonstration organizations that started in January 2011.

“Better coordinated care is good for patients and it saves money,” said Sebelius. “We applaud every one of these doctors, hospitals, health centers and others for working together to ensure millions of people with Medicare get better, more patient-centered, coordinated care.”

And, as I've already pointed out, these kinds of models are already showing they can save money while improving care where they've been implemented.

"Decades of underfunding and paying for volume rather than value in Medicare have led us to this decision."

Exactly the philosophy of the ACA. Value, not volume, is the future of payment policy in this country. That's why it's landmark legislation.

 

[M14 Shooter]

How should the Government and the Country handle this hit on our economy?

Not sure why or how you don;t already know my answer, given how clear I have been on my position.
Nothing.

Since you didn't answer the question until now, there was no way of me knowing for certain that you don't give two shits about the economy, the country or anyone who might retire at any time in the future.
But now I know. Thanks for clearing that up.

Just so long as it is clear that you support placing people in a condition of involuntary servitude so long as it serves what you describe as 'the greater good'.

 

[ScreamingEagle]

.

National Review and the Heritage Foundation. Ho boy.

Even with the cuts, there are many Medicare Advantage plans that still have a $0 premium with robust benefits, and these are plans that do not allow for any health underwriting.

Imagine if Medicare Advantage Plans and Medicare Supplements were available to everyone at all ages, with the same waived underwriting, spreading the risk among healthier people. That would significantly lower net costs to insurers.

Imagine if these plans were all individual and portable, taking the entire health insurance burden off of our country's employers, freeing them to utilize those funds elsewhere.

Imagine if everyone could choose among a menu of Medicare Advantage plans that function like a PPO or HMO, or Medicare Supplements that essentially close all gaps in Medicare coverage.

Imagine unleashing the insurance industry to concentrate on just Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Supplements, and all the cool extra benefits they could come up with.

Imagine if a foundational Medicare chassis were available for everyone, allowing people to get regular preventive treatment and easy access to diagnostic treatment, and how much money that would save the health care system in the long run.

Imagine if all plans adopted Value Based Insurance Design (VBID), which eliminates co-pays for specific medications and provides education on those conditions, a strategy that a recent study showed decreased emergency room visits by 70% and hospital visits by 80% of those patients.

Lower costs, full access, improved outcomes. Wow, imagine that.

Oops, Rush says no, so I know the answers I'll get here.

.

...are you imagining you're a medical visionary form of John Lennon........?

I keep offering ideas and specifics, tactics taken from both sides of the political spectrum, based on industry knowledge I utilize every day. You keep offering insults and standard rhetoric.

Perfect, thanks.

.

you keep offering insults to Rush and other conservatives....you think being an ego-centric medical practitioner makes you insult-proof...?

in fact i actually agree with a couple of the ideas from your list.....i've been advocating for portable plans and cutting out the middlemen such as employers for a long time....but i also advocate doing away with insurance companies (except for major medical) and most of the government too....