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Old 03-04-2014, 01:44 PM
Status: "On the road with Kid Charlamagne" (set 3 hours ago)
 
8,002 posts, read 5,774,766 times
Reputation: 9609

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Quote:
Originally Posted by borregokid View Post
Who was watching the government coffers when Medicare under Reagan approved heart transplants? No wonder we have a Tea Party thats in awe of President Reagan. How many of these transplants have failed and how many years were added to peoples lives that were 65+ years old? Bush passed Medicare Part D which is being abused. Medicare spending is out of control and dwarfs the ACA. Up to 35% of Medicare recipients have three or more pain killer prescriptions. Lets not talk about Medicare abuse or spending lets keep our focus on the ACA. Republicans do have a solid plan though for 2014 attack the ACA and keep the base alive whatever the cost...its only taxpayers money.

A high number of Medicare patients are getting painkillers from multiple doctors | TheCelebrityCafe.com

Medicare to Pay for Heart Transplants - Los Angeles Times

Child, please.

One day, in the not-too-distant future, you're going to be thrilled with Medicare when you discover that penile implants are a covered expense. Throw in a motorized scooter, and you'll be KILLING it at the senior center.

I notice that you failed to link to any story that discusses the number of heart transplants actually performed on people that are 65+. You'll find that the number is under 400. Which means that of the 2,000 heart transplants that are being performed each year in the US, the vast majority of them are performed on people under 65, all the way down to infants.

I think we should talk about Medicare fraud. I also think you need to come to terms that Obamacare is flawed, seriously flawed.

 
Old 03-04-2014, 01:51 PM
 
Location: Barrington
63,919 posts, read 46,491,381 times
Reputation: 20674
Quote:
Originally Posted by aneftp View Post
4.Because they are super morbidly obese, they need gastric bypass surgery (which is approved by both medicaid and medicare).....guess what CMS doesn't even require gastric bypass surgery to be even performed by "certified centers any more" because Obama and HHS waived those requirements in late 2013.

Bariatric Surgery - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

You see the problems with government waste. This situation is much more common than heart transplants and costs far more than heart transplants.
Whew!

Gastric bypass has all but been replaced with out patient lap band surgery, which runs $4-5K. As I understand it complications are rare. Eligibility is determined by BMI and other risk factors. In some cases, a BMI as low as 30 qualifies.

Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries account for a small percentage of volume.

A heart transplant ran $200-300K in the 80's. It now costs about $1 million, all in.
 
Old 03-04-2014, 02:01 PM
 
Location: Barrington
63,919 posts, read 46,491,381 times
Reputation: 20674
Quote:
Originally Posted by le roi View Post
it creates government liabilities that are not funded by the payroll tax ... therefore it drives up the national debt.

but because it is part of medicare, politicians can say, "Oh we can't cut that, people paid for their medicare." (Ignoring the parts of it which are unfunded)

basically anyone who supports Medicare Part D, and complains about welfare (or the deficit) is a tremendous hypocrite. This describes quite a few of our elderly right-wingers out there.
Medicare Part D was a political move to garner the senior vote.

When Congress declined to allow Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription meds it became obvious that this was all about rewarding Big Pharma lobbies. It became law in 2003 and was implemented in 2006, just 5 years before the oldest baby boomers began to turn 65. No beneficiary paid a dime more for this new benefit. It's all deficit spend.

There does not appear to be any interest in Congress to allow Medicare to negotiate the price of medications and so, the U.S. pays more than any other nation.
 
Old 03-04-2014, 02:48 PM
 
22,768 posts, read 30,625,304 times
Reputation: 14737
Quote:
Originally Posted by middle-aged mom View Post
Medicare Part D was a political move to garner the senior vote.
agreed, and it worked exactly as intended

Quote:
When Congress declined to allow Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription meds it became obvious that this was all about rewarding Big Pharma lobbies. It became law in 2003 and was implemented in 2006, just 5 years before the oldest baby boomers began to turn 65. No beneficiary paid a dime more for this new benefit. It's all deficit spend.

There does not appear to be any interest in Congress to allow Medicare to negotiate the price of medications and so, the U.S. pays more than any other nation.
the bolded is what really bothers me.

it seems like the people who want to reduce the national debt are the same people who support these expensive, unfunded drug benefits that drive up the national debt.
 
Old 03-05-2014, 06:23 AM
 
Location: Barrington
63,919 posts, read 46,491,381 times
Reputation: 20674
Quote:
Originally Posted by le roi View Post
agreed, and it worked exactly as intended



the bolded is what really bothers me.

it seems like the people who want to reduce the national debt are the same people who support these expensive, unfunded drug benefits that drive up the national debt.

It's a tad ironic that the seniors who seem to support the tea party seem blissfully unaware that the tea party franchise seeks to end Medicare and instead provide each senior with an annual $11,000 voucher, presumably to buy their own private insurance or pay out of pocket for healthcare. Those who advocate for vouchers seem to ignore the reason why Medicare was created- private insurers won't touch senior healthcare risks.

There are so many things that can be done to begin to mitigate the Medicare deficit, including but not limited to negotiating the price of prescription meds and mobile devises, means testing, pushing age eligibility, increased hospital and MD fraud detection and prevention and a cold hard look at what is covered.

Medical tort reform is a hot spot. As I understand it, it is a constitutional issue.
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