CMS Pans Reid’s Health Bill
This is from Medicare’s Chief Actuary, Rick Foster:
- The Reid bill would increase, not decrease, overall health care spending.
- It will increase medical prices and health insurance premiums.
- The cuts in Medicare will jeopardize access to care for seniors.
- It will cause one out of every three Medicare Advantage members to lose coverage and cause others to have reduced benefits.
- It is likely to cause providers to be less willing to see Medicare and Medicaid patients.
- Medicare cuts could cause the closure of 20% of all Part A providers (hospitals, nursing homes, etc.), if they were actually made.
- But it is unlikely that the cuts will be made — which means the proposal is not realistically funded.
Perpetual threats to slash Medicare reimbursements are largely about rent-seeking. The greater the treat of a cut, the more likely professional associations who represent physicians will make campaign contributions in order to prevent a cut. Proposing cuts that are not expected to be implemented is also a way to artificially make programs appear fiscally sounds when they are anything but.
This report is a blockbuster.
Agree with Ken. This is devastating.
I hope the conclusions of this report get widely distributed.