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If there is fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid, why does it take a healthcare bill to fix it? Why isn't it just a part of the Health & Human Services appropriation bill? This is where the President says he going to recoup some savings. What's he waiting for? And, why hasn't it ever been fixed since the programs began? (Not an Obama fault.) C'mon, if he's going to make a case for government run anything, isn't admitting there is a lot of fraud and abuse in Medicare/Medicaid saying the government can't run something right?
When there was all kinds of fraud and abuse in the Earned Income Tax Program, the IRS got a lot of money from Congress to fix it. Have they, by the way? NO! So what makes the President think he can fix fraud and abuse in another government run program and save some money?
IRS Made $12 Billion in Improper Earned Income Tax Credit Payments in 2008--As Fraud Grew Exponentially
CNSNews.com - IRS Made $12 Billion in Improper Earned Income Tax Credit Payments in 2008--As Fraud Grew Exponentially (http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/47244 - broken link)
The Earned Income Tax Credit and Illegal Immigration
[quote=LauraC;10690364]If there is fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid, why does it take a healthcare bill to fix it?
It doesn't. It's just a smokescreen. Obama doesn't know how the health care bill will be paid for, so he's using elimination of fraud in Medicare as an offset. There is no way that Medicare can pay for itself even if all fraud is eliminated.
He's planning on cutting Medicare benefits by some $600 billion; he doesn't want to talk much about that because there would be another uproar so he talks about eliminating waste and fraud instead, and gets a standing ovation.
If there is fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid, why does it take a healthcare bill to fix it? Why isn't it just a part of the Health & Human Services appropriation bill? This is where the President says he going to recoup some savings...
Which health care bill are you talking about, that deals with just fraud and abuse in medicare/medicaid?
Consider your source(s).
Quote:
Originally Posted by southward bound
He's planning on cutting Medicare benefits by some $600 billion; he doesn't want to talk much about that because there would be another uproar so he talks about eliminating waste and fraud instead, and gets a standing ovation.
Clever, this man is.
When you oppose cuts to spending because you think it affects you, it is "cutting benefits". When it doesn't affect you, then it is being "fiscally conservative".
Having said that, for sake of sanity, could you be a little more specific about these benefits being cut, and how they are currently being paid for (i.e. where is the $600B coming from)?
Last edited by EinsteinsGhost; 09-10-2009 at 08:41 AM..
Which health care bill are you talking about, that deals with just fraud and abuse in medicare/medicaid?
Consider your source(s).
When you oppose cuts to spending because you think it affects you, it is "cutting benefits". When it doesn't affect you, then it is being "fiscally conservative".
Having said that, for sake of sanity, could you be a little more specific about these benefits being cut, and how they are currently being paid for (i.e. where is the $600B coming from)?
What are you talking about? I think you have two different threads mixed up. This thread is about the way savings can be had in Medicare/Medicaid if some of the fraud and abuse is cut out to help pay for Obamacare. I'm all for cutting fraud and abuse. I just don't think they can do it (see EITC example in original post) and I don't think they have to wait for healthcare reform to attempt it. All they have to do is appropriate some money to Health and Human Services (I'm assuming that's where the program would reside) to do it. I also intimated that we shouldn't have had to wait for healthcare reform to go after fraud/abuse. It should have been attempted during previous administrations.
If there is fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid, why does it take a healthcare bill to fix it?
It doesn't this bill is not about healthcare, it's about controlling our healthcare money.
Our gubmint is broke, they need a new money stream to keep Obama from disaster. What better money stream than controlling 20% more of our GDP.
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