TruthOut10
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- Dec 3, 2012
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Thursday's big foray in the world of trying to get Beltway pundits to maybe notice that the effects of the sequestration are actually real and kind of a big deal came from The Washington Post's Sarah Kliff, who reported that "Cancer clinics across the country have begun turning away thousands of Medicare patients, blaming the sequester budget cuts." The issue involves the intersection of the sequestration's cuts to Medicare and the expensive pharmaceuticals that oncologists use to treat their patients. Cancer clinics are increasingly finding themselves forced to make a Sophie's choice that one clinic executive describes as being "between seeing [Medicare] patients and staying in business.
Kliff's article has not been sufficient to convince conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh, however, who took to his microphone today to characterize Kliff's article as "manufactured and made up." But not long after taking issue with Kliff's story, Limbaugh got a call from a fan, who tried to set him straight.
Beginning with Kliff, here's what's at stake:
Oncologists say the reduced funding, which took effect for Medicare on April 1, makes it impossible to administer expensive chemotherapy drugs while staying afloat financially.
Patients at these clinics would need to seek treatment elsewhere, such as at hospitals that might not have the capacity to accommodate them.
If we treated the patients receiving the most expensive drugs, wed be out of business in six months to a year, said Jeff Vacirca, chief executive of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates in New York. The drugs were going to lose money on were not going to administer right now.
Rush Limbaugh Gets Schooled By Oncologist
Kliff's article has not been sufficient to convince conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh, however, who took to his microphone today to characterize Kliff's article as "manufactured and made up." But not long after taking issue with Kliff's story, Limbaugh got a call from a fan, who tried to set him straight.
Beginning with Kliff, here's what's at stake:
Oncologists say the reduced funding, which took effect for Medicare on April 1, makes it impossible to administer expensive chemotherapy drugs while staying afloat financially.
Patients at these clinics would need to seek treatment elsewhere, such as at hospitals that might not have the capacity to accommodate them.
If we treated the patients receiving the most expensive drugs, wed be out of business in six months to a year, said Jeff Vacirca, chief executive of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates in New York. The drugs were going to lose money on were not going to administer right now.
Rush Limbaugh Gets Schooled By Oncologist