What would happen if all money was redistributed equally?

[Hoonose]

Originally Posted by CaliRestoration

That doesn't make any sense. Why would they need the welfare if they're keeping the money in the first place? Stop taking their money away so they can spend, save, or invest it. The government is horrible at allocating resources so why give them YOUR money to give back to you? So stop giving them that job.

Whom do you mean by 'they' needing welfare? Who is keeping what money?

Originally Posted by CaliRestoration

Disagree. Medicare is absolutely rife with fraud and waste.

Sure there is some fraud, as with any large operation public or private. A few percent is not going to change our HC reform course. Fraud should and will always be pursued, but Medicare fraud is not our major HC cost driver.

Waste is harder to quantify. No doubt there is some serious waste in Medicare. But the big numbers are more from medical stupidity and laziness. I see it every day. Docs and other HC providers and entities ordering tests and doing what-not and such without first researching what has already been done and why. Not doing a simple, cheap and easy history or exam of the patients first on their own. This is where the big money lies. Docs control much if not most of their patients medically related spending. And that amount of money is typically on the order of 10X the docs income. So take hundreds of thousands of weak docs, and we get massive waste.

[CaliRestoration]

Originally Posted by Hoonose

Who is keeping what money?

I think that's pretty self evident.

Sure there is some fraud, as with any large operation public or private. A few percent is not going to change our HC reform course. Fraud should and will always be pursued, but Medicare fraud is not our major HC cost driver.

Fraud and waste are the worst parts of Medicare. Absolutely. This isn't even argued by proponents of Medicare or Health Care for All.

[Hoonose]

Originally Posted by CaliRestoration

I think that's pretty self evident.



Fraud and waste are the worst parts of Medicare. Absolutely. This isn't even argued by proponents of Medicare or Health Care for All.

Sorry I couldn't follow your 'they'.

What percent of Medicare spending is waste? and fraud?

[CaliRestoration]

Originally Posted by Hoonose

Sorry I couldn't follow your 'they'.

Not my problem.

What percent of Medicare spending is waste? and fraud?

"Low estimates" are in the tens of billions.
https://publicintegrity.org/health/f...ons-last-year/

I suspect the costs of fraud and waste could be much higher.

[Hoonose]

Originally Posted by CaliRestoration

Not my problem.



"Low estimates" are in the tens of billions.
https://publicintegrity.org/health/f...ons-last-year/

I suspect the costs of fraud and waste could be much higher.

Most 'fraud' in Medicare is gray zone billing. Upcoding for instance without good documentation. Adding on non-related diagnoses. It is always in the providers best financial interest to sugar coat and get the most out of reimbursements. Versus actual planned felonious and out right criminal fraud. Most of us docs and facilities get audited from time to time, and half the time they find some 'fraud'.

Waste is a very big deal as I noted already. Far more in money than criminal fraud IMO. It could be on the order of 10% of all Medicare, maybe even as high as one third. I see it every day. I see it every day I'm here at my wife's bedside during her hospitalization. And medical errors.