Top Problems In The Medicare “Compromise” Overhaul Bill

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Top Problems In The Medicare “Compromise” Overhaul Bill

1. Pushing Health Care Costs Higher For Older And Disabled Americans. The

“compromise” bill allows drug companies to charge exorbitant prices, yet blocks

the government from being able to negotiate better prices. The public interest

group Consumer’s Union found that even after the drug deal is enacted,

beneficiaries would pay more than they do today because of skyrocketing drug

prices. This major victory for drug companies makes no sense for Medicare.

Further, the proposal relies heavily on private health plans to deliver

health-care services in the name of cost-saving. However, the key lesson of the

" Medicare+Choice " experiment—where beneficiaries are given the option of using

private health insurance—is that private health plans are not able to contain

costs or offer reliable coverage. To deal with spiraling health-care costs, the

bill contemplates capping government spending on Medicare, which is projected to

shift additional costs to the people who use Medicare. The likely result

is that many Americans will be hard-pressed to afford health-care coverage

under Medicare.

2. Forcing Older And Disabled Americans Out Of Traditional Medicare And Into

HMOs. Millions of Americans will see their traditional Medicare premiums

increase substantially when the Medicare law gives a major financial shot in the

arm to HMOs. If HMOs are brought in to Medicare, they will lure away people in

relatively good health from traditional Medicare and force Medicare to charge

more to deliver health care services to a predominantly sick population.

Millions of people in traditional Medicare will have no choice but to join an

HMO, give up the doctors they know and trust and forego access to health-care

services when they visit with their children out of state.

3. Demanding That Six Million Low-Income Americans Pay More For Medications. The

proposal eliminates Medicaid prescription drug coverage for the poorest older

and disabled men and women and forces them to make do with more costly Medicare

prescription drug coverage.

4. Giving More Than $200 Billion Over 10 Years To Private Industry. This

“compromise” bill will give the pharmaceutical industry additional windfall

profits estimated at $139 billion over eight years and the private health plans

an additional $75 billion in taxpayer subsidies. To further support the

pharmaceutical industry, it allows the FDA to block reimportation of cheaper

drugs from other countries and gives the pharmaceutical companies an excuse to

do away with their discount programs for older adults and people with

disabilities with incomes under 200 percent of poverty.

5. Spending Seven Billion Dollars On Tax Breaks For Wealthy. The proposal

creates a new tax shelter for wealthy Americans which both undermines employer

coverage and adds to the number of uninsured by driving up the cost of health

insurance. This seven billion dollar subsidy for the health savings accounts

business is a boon for private industry.

6. Threatening The Quality Of Health Care For Older And Disabled Americans.

While the proposal hands out money to private industry to provide health care,

it fails to include adequate consumer protections for this care. For example,

the “compromise” eases requirements for health-plan quality assurance. It also

establishes an even more complex health care maze, while not providing

standardized systems or adequate tools to allow people with Medicare to make

informed health-care choices.

7. Ridding the Federal Government of Responsibility For Ensuring that Older and

Disabled Americans Get the Care They Need. The “compromise” limits the

government’s role in guaranteeing health care coverage to people with Medicare

and makes them increasingly subject to the volatility of the private

marketplace.

 

 

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Published: Nov 17 2003

 

 

 

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