Seniors oppose Doc-Fix “Compromise” that sticks them with higher Medicare costs.
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The Senate ‘Doc Fix’ vote has traded one bad policy for another…shifting the costs of Congress’ failed Medicare payment formula for physicians to seniors who can least afford to foot that bill.
via NCPSSM.
Jon Stewart recently had a segment on the ‘Doc Fix’ but missed one key part:
Millions of Seniors – Not Just the Wealthy – Will Face Higher Costs In Medicare Thanks to “Doc Fix” Bill.
Related Reading:
Congress Trades Bad Deal for Doctors for Bad Deal for Seniors in Medicare.
The House has passed the so-called “doc fix” legislation replacing the flawed reimbursement formula Congress itself created years ago to cut
pay to doctors in Medicare. The formula has never worked and Congress
has had to vote to replace it year after year. We’ve supported the
permanent replacement of this flawed formula and still do.
Unfortunately, the legislation that passed the House today merely trades
one bad deal for another. And this time it’s seniors who take the
hit.
The House has passed the so-called “doc fix” legislation replacing the flawed reimbursement formula Congress itself created years ago to cut pay to doctors in Medicare. The formula has never worked and Congress has had to vote to replace it year after year.
In a letter sent to the House of Representatives today, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare President/CEO, Max Richtman, applauded efforts to permanently replace the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula used to determine Medicare payments to physicians and other providers. However, the National Committee expressed strong opposition to plans to pay for nearly half of the offsets in the bill by increasing costs for Medicare beneficiaries.
We suggested other reasonable alternatives in our Congressional letter:
The National Committee calls on House leaders to perfect the SGR package by dropping plans to require seniors and people with disabilities to pay more for Medicare. To that end, we suggest other offsets to the legislation. For example, we support restoring rebates from drug manufacturers for the drugs used by individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and for people receiving the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS).
Read More from the Release Here.
Trading a bad deal for doctors for a bad deal for seniors is not a legislative victory and it is a surprising move from some in Congress who have previously vowed to protect Medicare from cuts and seniors from cost-shifting.
via Entitled to Know.
The future of Medicare and Medicaid may depend on Sen. Charles Grassley. He is one of a handful of Senate Republicans who could serve as a firewall against harmful changes to these crucial programs that Iowa seniors rely upon. The GOP’S American Health Care Act would have cut $880 billion from Medicaid. With so many Iowa seniors depending on Medicaid for long-term care, it is perplexing that Sen. Grassley supported the AHCA. We hope the senator will reconsider his position the next time Republicans attempt to gut Medicaid.
Max Richtman via Des Moines Register.
House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are close to an agreement on the substance of a permanent “doc fix”—but they’re still scrambling to sell the plan to skeptics in their own caucuses, the health care industry, and the Senate.
The leaders are fighting intense political battles aimed at both keeping prominent groups such as the AARP and Heritage Action on the sidelines while carving out a wide enough middle ground in the House to pass a bill certain to alienate partisans on both sides.
“I think it’s going to be a pretty tricky balancing act,” said Dan Adcock, director of government relations and policy at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.
via National Journal.
It’s no surprise that conservatives applaud this legislation [doc fix] as ‘the first real entitlement reform in two decades’ because it fulfills their political goal of shifting costs to seniors, cutting benefits and expanding means-testing to push Medicare further and further away from being the earned benefit seniors have long valued and depended on.
via NCPSSM.
Seniors went to Capitol Hill earlier this month to tell Congress why their current #SocialSecurity benefits are inadequate. Boost Social Security Now! https://www.ncpssm.org/campaigns/boost-social-security-now/ @RepJohnLarson