I am a Jefferson-style independent (see the Nolan Chart) and I work in the field of health care. So nice try on the "Republican" label.
I can be considered an expert on the matter of health care financing, as I am a published health services researcher. So when you start quoting sources like Business Week, I can call "bullsheet" in a New York second. To wit...
That's a flat-out stupid statement. Managed care is supposed to keep people out of the hospital. Hospitals are where costs hemorrhage and people die from nosocomial infections.Business Week wrote: No matter how you slice it, the Affordable Care Act strengthens medical hospital insurance.
Did you not read what I wrote?Business Week wrote: From 2010 to 2019, Obamacare trims payments to providers by $196 billion.
CMS Medicare fees to physicians were already too low. The RBRVS conversion factor is lower than what is paid by commercial insurance companies to doctors in their networks. Most doctors accepted the lower CMS payments because it kept the lights on and doors open (a loss leader). Lowering the conversion factor even more creates a situation where fees don't cover their costs. Thus many providers now are choosing not to accept Medicare patients.
That's right, Glenn. Stop taking Medicare patients and see only Commercial patients where you get a higher fee. What's not to like about that? Screw granny. Let her die and we all save money.Business Week wrote: They agreed to take a cut because they will get so many new patients, thanks to the individual mandate.
... which they won't get back because Medicare won't cover them. They'll take on richer (Medicare Advantage) benefits. Thanks for nothing, Obama.Business Week wrote: Another $210 billion will be generated by raising Medicare taxes on the wealthy (that’s households earning more than $250,000).
Overpayments to Medicare Advantage is an oxymoron. Commercial insurers do it better/cheaper than Uncle Sam. So Uncle Sam is overpaying them by giving them a risk-adjusted payment* equivalent to what CMS pays in traditional Medicare? Oooo... How damning!! Let's get rid of Medicare and let Commercial Insurers do all of it.Business Week wrote: Another $145 billion comes from phasing out overpayments to Medicare Advantage.
Completely unproven. I've seen the research on things like Electronic Health Records. They generate as much costs as they save.Business Week wrote: More savings come from streamlining administrative costs.
- Bill
* I worked for the company that designed the software that calculates relative risk scores for Medicare members. CMS uses these models to calculate risk-adjusted payments for Medicare Advantage members. It's designed so that the payment for an "average" Medicare member (relative risk score = 1.0) is the equivalent of what CMS pays for that member in Medicare. Commercial insurers are allowed to play, and they make money by doing it cheaper/better. And that ain't hard to do.