When the sequester hit the federal budget seven days ago, the budget hawk on the right, Rep. Paul Ryan, started re-floating his 2012 budget plan as the solution. Opponents of the GOP budget will recall that Ryan is in favor of raising the age for Medicare eligibility and privatizing the health care program. The White [...]
March 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Could ‘Drastic Changes’ In Medicare Doctor Pay Fix Shortfalls in Physician Payment
By Jordan Rau, Kaiser Health News A panel convened by a major medical group is recommending that Medicare heal its physician payment shortfalls with “drastic changes” in how it reimburses doctors and other providers, rather than seeking more taxpayer money. Medicare needs $138 billion over the next decade to avoid steep cuts in physician pay. [...]
March 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
President Obama signals readiness to take on Medicare and entitlement spending.
During a Friday news conference on the national budget sequester, President Obama said that some Democrats will not touch the health care entitlement program for older Americans and those with disabilities. “And what I’ve said … is that I’m prepared to take on the problem where it exists, on entitlements, and do some things that [...]
March 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Is Obama’s $500 million crackdown on Medicare fraud doomed to failure? (video)
Reason TV talks with the National Association of Medicaid Directors’ Matt Salo, former director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Thomas Scully, and Reason magazine’s Peter Suderman, who agree that despite recent headlines, there’s little reason to think that Medicare and Medicaid fraud will become a thing of the past. In February, the Health and [...]
March 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Negotiations fail and the sequester is on, but what does it mean for Medicare?
President Obama blamed GOP lawmakers at a press conference Friday after an eleventh hour meeting between the White House and congressional leaders failed to come up with a plan to avert sequestration. Republicans blame the president for persisting that tax hikes are part of the deal. Budget reduction ideas have been put forth and rejected [...]
