THE "UNDER ONE-TRILLION DOLLARS" HEALTHCARE DECEPTION:

AT WHAT REAL COST WAS THE NEW HEALTHCARE BILL RAMMED THROUGH CONGRESS?

For whatever reason ascribable to the mystical realm of Obamanomics, keeping the GAO (Government Accounting Office) projection of the cost of the Healthcare Bill to less than one-trillion dollars was key to passage of the bill. So what was omitted from the Bill, perhaps to be legislated and paid for in later legislation?

For one thing the Bill included no permanent nor temporary fix to adjust the Medicare-participating-physician reimbursement rates from the scheduled 21% decrease. This, in addition to other cuts in Medicare reimbursements to Medicare Providers, is causing physicians, clinics, and hospitals around the country to refuse new Medicare patients and even to cease caring for existing Medicare patients. It should be remembered that in a stunning 'tour de force' in July of 2008 the Democratic Party thumbed it's nose at President George Bush by calling on Senator Kennedy to rise from his death bed (soon to be dead of brain cancer) to come to Washington, DC to cast the key veto-defying vote for the legislation that eliminated the PFFS Advantage Plan and restored -- temporarily -- the 21% fix in physician reimbursements. That 21% physician reimbursement fix, so 'important' in 2008, was deliberately and cynically omitted from the recently passed Healthcare Bill and is before Congress now as a separate funding initiative mixed in with other funding initiatives such as jobs initiatives. And the PFFS Advantage Plan is still scheduled for termination 01/01/2011 (note: see prior post this Blog).

As if this obvious sin of legislative omission was not enough, the oppressive Medicare cuts to Medicare Advantage Plans may sooner or later challenge the affordability of the voluntary inclusion in these Plans of the profoundly important MOOP (Maximum Out Of Pocket) protection that distinguishes these Plans from Traditional Medicare, as Traditional Medicare does not include MOOP protection. For those Medicare Beneficiaries living on fixed incomes including those, who may be comfortable, but, who cannot afford a Medicare Supplement Plan, the Medicare Advantage Plan currently provides financial protection from loss of house and home due to medically caused financial crises. Now there is a cloud over this value added Benefit to those on Medicare, who choose the Medicare Advantage Plan as their Medicare choice. The irony here is that the new Healthcare Bill requires non-Medicare insurance for non-Medicare health plans to provide MOOP protection. (If you are among those fortunate enough to now have health coverage through work or private insurance, you may look forward to some dazzling health insurance premium increases to cover such universal initiatives as MOOP protection. Incidentally, this Blog is favors such benefits as MOOP protection, elimination of waiting periods, and amelioration of policy cancellations; that said, this Blog is disgusted with the hypocritical, demonizing, demagogic, and divisive politics that characterize not only the national healthcare debate, but, national politics in general.)

These above are only two of the profound ways that the new Healthcare Bill targets our senior citizens, causing seniors a deprivation of Providers and a loss of financial protections, among others. If the current Bill is stuck to, these real cuts to Medicare will remain permanent. If these and other problems in the Healthcare Bill are dealt with to shore up such sinful omissions, then there is no way the Healthcare Bill will sustain itself at the "less than one-trillion dollar" ceiling.