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Also, from the article you posted this has been going on since...1997. I wonder how many people will just start shouting about Obama like he was president back then.
I will be amused if/when I hears "Obama's fault" for 8 years after he is gone.
Also, from the article you posted this has been going on since...1997. I wonder how many people will just start shouting about Obama like he was president back then.
And not one red cent is actually cut from Medicare and it is based on projected savings. HMMM I think I heard this one before. And when the projected savings do not pan out I doubt very seriously that they will cut Medicare to make up the short falls of Obamacare. And when it is all said and done it will drive up more debt.
Also, from the article you posted this has been going on since...1997. I wonder how many people will just start shouting about Obama like he was president back then.
Correct, every year they have been kicking the can down the road for almost the last 20 years. However, there is similar cuts in Obamacare that are the primary reason for the projected deficit savings. How do you think that is going to work out?
It is important to note that the estimated savings shown in this memorandum for one category of
Medicare provisions may be unrealistic. The PPACA introduces permanent annual productivity
adjustments to price updates for most providers (such as hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and
home health agencies), using a 10-year moving average of economy-wide private, non-farm
productivity gains. While such payment update reductions will create a strong incentive for
providers to maximize efficiency, it is doubtful that many will be able to improve their own
productivity to the degree achieved by the economy at large.Over time, a sustained reduction
in payment updates, based on productivity expectations that are difficult to attain, would cause
Medicare payment rates to grow more slowly than, and in a way that was unrelated to, the providers’
costs of furnishing services to beneficiaries. Thus, providers for whom Medicare
constitutes a substantive portion of their business could find it difficult to remain profitable and,
absent legislative intervention, might end their participation in the program (possibly
jeopardizing access to care for beneficiaries). Simulations by the Office of the Actuary suggest
that roughly 15 percent of Part A providers would become unprofitable within the 10-year
projection period as a result of the productivity adjustments. Although this policy could be
monitored over time to avoid such an outcome, changes would likely result in smaller actual
savings than shown here for these provisions.
Last edited by thecoalman; 03-29-2014 at 11:17 PM..
Majority leader Boehner instead of bringing the doc fix to the house floor for a vote took the easy way out and had it passed by just a voice vote. That way he does not have to explain how is it going to be paid for and dumps it right in the lap of the Senate.
It makes me wonder how the gvt is going to cut Medicare 500 billion when they can not let the doc fix expire and will do anything to get the fix passed. Boehner really needs the speaker chair pulled from out under him he is no leader and not a conservative.
Let the "doc fix" expire. That way, we will see very few, if any, physicians taking medicare patients and the whole system will implode.
We had our reimbursement (as well as neurosurgery, ortho, physiatry, and psychiatry) cut 50% for medicare for MANY of the things I do as of January 1st. What did I do? I cut my medicare load from 40% to 5%, as I would be losing quite a bit on every medicare patient. I now make more money by seeing fewer patients, as medicare was very low reimbursing before the cuts.
What has happened? The seniors are howling. However, I cannot go broke to satisfy Obama's ill conceived plans.
Let the "doc fix" expire. That way, we will see very few, if any, physicians taking medicare patients and the whole system will implode.
We had our reimbursement (as well as neurosurgery, ortho, physiatry, and psychiatry) cut 50% for medicare for MANY of the things I do as of January 1st. What did I do? I cut my medicare load from 40% to 5%, as I would be losing quite a bit on every medicare patient. I now make more money by seeing fewer patients, as medicare was very low reimbursing before the cuts.
What has happened? The seniors are howling. However, I cannot go broke to satisfy Obama's ill conceived plans.
Thanks for your reply and admit I was unaware of those Medicare cuts.
I will be amused if/when I hears "Obama's fault" for 8 years after he is gone.
I agree, but I think it will take more than 8 years to fix what he leaves behind. It will be interesting to see whom Hillary blames, if the country were so unfortunate as to end up with her at the helm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hawkeye2009
Let the "doc fix" expire. That way, we will see very few, if any, physicians taking medicare patients and the whole system will implode.
We had our reimbursement (as well as neurosurgery, ortho, physiatry, and psychiatry) cut 50% for medicare for MANY of the things I do as of January 1st. What did I do? I cut my medicare load from 40% to 5%, as I would be losing quite a bit on every medicare patient. I now make more money by seeing fewer patients, as medicare was very low reimbursing before the cuts.
What has happened? The seniors are howling. However, I cannot go broke to satisfy Obama's ill conceived plans.
For a president who claims to want to take care of the people by "leveling the playing field" this is a sad commentary on the effect of his efforts.
One would think they would do an audit first before just "cutting payments".
One would think if they already know there's "overpayments" they would have done something about it rather than just "cut payments".
Majority leader Boehner instead of bringing the doc fix to the house floor for a vote took the easy way out and had it passed by just a voice vote. That way he does not have to explain how is it going to be paid for and dumps it right in the lap of the Senate.
It makes me wonder how the gvt is going to cut Medicare 500 billion when they can not let the doc fix expire and will do anything to get the fix passed. Boehner really needs the speaker chair pulled from out under him he is no leader and not a conservative.
Since 2003, Congress has approved "doc fix" bills that appropriate more money to Medicare funding in order to avoid cuts in Medicare reimburse rates for doctors.
"Lawmakers could address the long-range financial imbalance in several different ways. In theory, they could immediately increase the standard 2.90-percent payroll tax by the amount of the actuarial deficit to 4.01 percent, or they could reduce expenditures by a corresponding amount. Note, however, that these changes would require an immediate 38-percent increase in the standard tax rate or an immediate 22-percent reduction in expenditures."
Source: 2013 Trustee Report pp. 32-33
The 2.9% HI payroll tax is total, being 1.45% each for the employer and employee.
An increase to 4.01% would be 2.005% for each employer and employee.
The point is that decreasing payments is not the only option, since payroll taxes could be increased. Another option is a combination of cuts and payroll tax increase.
This represents a failure of the Bush and Obama Administrations addressing the issue, which was brought to the forefront in 2003.
They could have sought a step-increase of say, 0.2% each year for 10 years or something like that.
Analyzing....
Thanks for your reply and admit I was unaware of those Medicare cuts.
You're welcome-
Don't feel misinformed- I think that very few in the public are aware of these cuts at all, as they have not been reported upon anywhere I can find. Primary care actually got a small increase (with extension of the "doc fix"). However, if they go through with the "doc fix" cuts (which they must do to make Obamacare work, even though that "fix" has been around for about ten years), then we will see a fairly widespread policy of rationing medicare slots in medical practices.
It kind of bummed me out to reduce the medicare percentage I am seeing, as I like the oldsters. With the cuts made in January to many specialists (and the cuts made last January to other specialists), nearly all specialty practices are "rationing" medicare slots. We have a two week wait for a non-medicare appointment and a three month wait for a medicare slot. The seniors can't go anywhere else, as all of the specialists are doing the same thing. Likewise, they cannot pay cash, as it is illegal for us (as medicare providers) to take anymore than what medicare pays. Many of us are forced to be medicare providers through ACO contracts, so we cannot just drop medicare, "balance bill" the reduced rate, and go back to the way things were. It is like a "Catch 22" situation.
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