Tag: Medicare

Good news on Social Security and Medicare? Reports show just that BY DEA

The following column by Dean Baker was posted on the Hill website July 19, 2017:

Social Security and Medicare are the country’s two largest and most important social programs, which is why the release of the annual trustees’ reports usually get considerable attention. These are effectively report cards on the financial health of these two programs.

The release of these reports last week actually got relatively little attention, in part because of competition from other big news items, and in part because there was little change from the reports issued last year. However, at least in the case of the Medicare trustees report, the fact that there were no major changes should have been big news.

The reason that a 2017 Medicare trustees report showing pretty much the same financial picture as the 2016 Medicare trustees report (the projected shortfall is actually slightly lower in this year’s report) is newsworthy is that it’s a different group of trustees. Continue reading “Good news on Social Security and Medicare? Reports show just that BY DEA”

Mayo to give preference to privately insured patients over Medicaid patients

The following article by Jeremy Olson was posted on the StarTribune website March 15, 2017:

Mayo Clinic’s chief executive made a startling announcement in a recent speech to employees: The Rochester-based health system will give preference to patients with private insurance over those with lower-paying Medicaid or Medicare coverage, if they seek care at the same time and have comparable conditions.

The number of patients affected would probably be small, but the selective strategy reveals the financial pressures that Mayo is facing in part due to federal health reforms. For while the Affordable Care Act has reduced the number of uninsured patients, it has increased the share covered by Medicaid, which pays around 50 to 85 cents on the dollar of the actual cost of medical care.

Mayo will always take patients, regardless of payer source, when it has medical expertise that they can’t find elsewhere, said Dr. John Noseworthy, Mayo’s CEO. But when two patients are referred with equivalent conditions, he said the health system should “prioritize” those with private insurance. Continue reading “Mayo to give preference to privately insured patients over Medicaid patients”

In Secret, The GOP Is Also Planning To Gut Medicaid And Medicare

The following article by @LOLGOP was posted on the National Memo website March 6, 2017:

House Republicans are now busily working to repeal the Affordable Care Act in secret.

Even when the GOP plan is done and made public, the secrecy will continue. The potential impact will still be hidden from the public, as it’s likely to not have any score from the Congressional Budget Office before the House votes on it. This means members of the House will not have any real idea of how many people they’re voting to uninsure, how much this plan will increase the deficit, and just how big a giveaway it will be to the rich.

Why is Paul Ryan is hiding his plan?

He knows that Republicans cannot afford an honest debate about the GOP’s repeal plans, especially their true intentions for Medicaid and Medicare. Continue reading “In Secret, The GOP Is Also Planning To Gut Medicaid And Medicare”