Wehrwolfen
Senior Member
- May 22, 2012
- 2,750
- 340
- 48
By David Catron
3.18.13
If President Obamas rhetoric on domestic policy can be said to have a coherent theme, it involves his desire to use government to create a level playing field in which no single segment of the electorate enjoys unfair advantages or suffers disproportionate disadvantages in the pursuit of happiness. He is particularly concerned, he tells us, that the rich pay their fair share while poor and minority Americans receive their just due. Somehow, though, every policy decision made by his administration seems to tilt the playing field against the latter.
The latest example of this curious phenomenon can be found in the recent announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that it plans to cut an extra 2.2 percent from the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. This new cut, which came as a surprise to everyone except Obamas health care commissars, will be added to the $200 billion in cuts Obamacare has already mandated for MA. What does this have to with low-income and minority seniors? The administrations new Medicare cuts will come directly out of their pockets.
MA is a health coverage vehicle created for seniors as part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. It permits private health plans to provide Medicare coverage to seniors and requires these carriers to compete with one another for the business of retired Americans looking for an affordable alternative to traditional fee-for-service Medicare. One of the ways in which MA plans compete is by offering comprehensive coverage that requires low out-of-pocket expenses, a feature that would obviously appeal to anyone on a modest fixed income.
It will come as no surprise, then, that every serious study of MA has shown the program to be increasingly popular among low-income and minority seniors. Unfortunately, the Obama administrations surprise rate cuts amount to an old fashioned bait-and-switch. The MA plans are already taking a huge hit pursuant to Obamacares $200 billion cut, and they will be unable to absorb these newest slashes in the program without passing at least some of the costs to the patients in the form of increased co-pays and deductibles.
And it is by no means an exaggeration to say that these extra out-of-pocket costs will hit the seniors who can least afford them. Americas Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a trade group to which many MA carriers belong, recently issued a report confirming that reality: Sixty-one (61) percent of all minority (nonwhite) beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage in 2011 had incomes of $20,000 or less; 59 percent of African-American and 75 percent of Hispanic Medicare Advantage beneficiaries had incomes of $20,000 or less.
Read more:
The American Spectator : Obama Shafts Poor and Minority Seniors Again
3.18.13
Latest cuts in Medicare Advantage hits those who can least afford it.
If President Obamas rhetoric on domestic policy can be said to have a coherent theme, it involves his desire to use government to create a level playing field in which no single segment of the electorate enjoys unfair advantages or suffers disproportionate disadvantages in the pursuit of happiness. He is particularly concerned, he tells us, that the rich pay their fair share while poor and minority Americans receive their just due. Somehow, though, every policy decision made by his administration seems to tilt the playing field against the latter.
The latest example of this curious phenomenon can be found in the recent announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that it plans to cut an extra 2.2 percent from the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. This new cut, which came as a surprise to everyone except Obamas health care commissars, will be added to the $200 billion in cuts Obamacare has already mandated for MA. What does this have to with low-income and minority seniors? The administrations new Medicare cuts will come directly out of their pockets.
MA is a health coverage vehicle created for seniors as part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. It permits private health plans to provide Medicare coverage to seniors and requires these carriers to compete with one another for the business of retired Americans looking for an affordable alternative to traditional fee-for-service Medicare. One of the ways in which MA plans compete is by offering comprehensive coverage that requires low out-of-pocket expenses, a feature that would obviously appeal to anyone on a modest fixed income.
It will come as no surprise, then, that every serious study of MA has shown the program to be increasingly popular among low-income and minority seniors. Unfortunately, the Obama administrations surprise rate cuts amount to an old fashioned bait-and-switch. The MA plans are already taking a huge hit pursuant to Obamacares $200 billion cut, and they will be unable to absorb these newest slashes in the program without passing at least some of the costs to the patients in the form of increased co-pays and deductibles.
And it is by no means an exaggeration to say that these extra out-of-pocket costs will hit the seniors who can least afford them. Americas Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a trade group to which many MA carriers belong, recently issued a report confirming that reality: Sixty-one (61) percent of all minority (nonwhite) beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage in 2011 had incomes of $20,000 or less; 59 percent of African-American and 75 percent of Hispanic Medicare Advantage beneficiaries had incomes of $20,000 or less.
Read more:
The American Spectator : Obama Shafts Poor and Minority Seniors Again
