Posts tagged 'Congress'
With the healthcare system -including Medicare - being as out of kilter as it is, there have been many suggestions as to how to make it work more efficiently and turn it into a system that can last and help many more people for a long time.
Social Security and Medicare work beautifully for the majority of enrollees and they provide at least some security and medical care to millions of American families who would otherwise go without, especially now in hard economic times.
More and more people are asking President Obama to look into supporting a "single payer'' health plan, assuring universal health care in this country.
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Usually, the single payer is a government agency that provides one-stop health coverage. In contrast, the American system of paying for health care has been called a chaotic maze of health providers, private insurance plans with wide variations in coverage, deductibles, co-pays, and a confusing and frustrating situation for the individuals who need the coverage and are trying to figure it out.
Many lawmakers are saying that an effective way for the U.S. to move toward a single payer plan would be to expand Medicare to everyone. The smart idea in this is that it would not be free. If you are working, some of your taxes could pay for the premium, and there are other ways to offset the expenses.
At present, the White House stated that a single payer system was not acceptable to the Obama administration.at this time
because the goal of the president's health care reform objective was "to cut costs for families that are watching their premiums and their co-payments and their deductibles skyrocket.''
Experts who have compared the various plans say a government-run single payer plan would be less expensive than private insurance. There would be less overhead and no marketing costs and no compulsion to rack up profits.
There are some 47 million people without health insurance -- and thousands more are losing their health benefits with their jobs.
There are a number of proposals being presented in Congress that would provide health insurance coverage for every person in the United States. They would provide all necessary medical care including prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and preventive care, emergency services, as well as dental, mental health, physical therapy, hearing and vision aids and long term care. And though each one is a little different in the details, 6 or 7 of these proposals are for single payer plan.
We’ve been hearing about it in the news for months and it has become a critical issue waiting for a last minute pre-fourth of July solution for the crisis with Medicare fees for doctors. The country – especially the seniors in this country – has been holding its breath waiting for Congress to put a stop to the cuts in Medicare payments to doctors.
The unfortunate thing is that Democrats and Republicans have been having heated arguments during the past week leading up to the of July holiday, the idea was that they were supposed to come to an agreement to help seniors to be able to continue their care through their primary care physicians that they are familiar with.
If Congress does not pass a bill reversing the situation and postponing the 10% cut in doctors’ Medicare payments, many doctors have already said that they won’t be able to afford to treat Medicare patients if the cut goes into effect.
It is possible for Congress to reverse the fee cut, making the reversal retroactive and reimbursing the doctors for any losses they suffered during the time that the decrease was in effect. The vote on Friday was so close that one more vote would have stopped the pay cuts to doctors and kept seniors protected. 600,000 doctors are along with millions of Medicare recipients.
With both sides in a tug of war over details, there are promises of another round starting immediately after the break when Congress reconvenes. Mike Leavitt, Director of the Department of Health and Human Services has said that the department will do everything possible to minimize the impact on doctor and beneficiaries, and when the higher fee schedule is restored they will reprocess claims at the higher rates as soon as possible.
We will all be watching to see what Congress comes up with next week.
Let’s face it. When given the choice between a chiropractor and an M.D., many people have been choosing chiropractors during the past few years. They have given many reasons – more cost effective, no drugs, helpful for specific conditions involving the back, legs, neck, muscles and more.
All of the reasons make sense – especially to people who consider chiropractic care to bring the best results for them. Unfortunately, chiropractic care has not been a real priority as far as Medicare goes. That is, however, a situation that is changing.
This week, representatives from state and local chiropractic associations and colleges, health professionals and consumer organizations came together in Washington, D.C., and met with individual doctors at the first National Conference on the use of Chiropractic Care in Medicare.
The conference addressed the demands being put on Medicare, including the fact that it will not be long before over 80 million people will be served by the system. They discussed the fact that now is the time to make adjustments and changes so that Medicare can grow with its beneficiaries.
The conference was important enough for three members of the House of Representatives including Senator Ben Cardin, spoke about differing ways to adjust the program to meet current and future demands. The congressional speakers discussed the difficulty of dealing with limited funding and trying to make sure that they are distributed fairly, especially as the population receiving Medicare benefits continues to grow.
ICA President John C. Maltby, D.C. stated that it would take a great deal of cooperation between beneficiaries, doctors, chiropractors, congress and Medicare to ensure that chiropractic care takes its rightful place in the Medicare system.
Though the conference is a first step, it is a huge step and may very well lead to more choices and improved services for Medicare recipients.
Congress is in the midst of voting this week regarding changes to Medicaid that would cut services and cost the states millions of dollars.
This vote is extremely important – so much so that even though President Bush has threatened to veto, the Senate is still working to stop the Bush changes that would eliminate or greatly decrease services.
The House Energy and Commerce Commission voted last week – unanimously – to create a one year moratorium on the rules that Bush is pushing for, even though Bush could try to veto the vote.
States are worried that if the changes Bush wants actually come to pass, not only will services be cut, but states will have to pay out billions of dollars within the next five years, while at the same time experiencing serious disruptions in medical services and the Medicaid system.
Since Bush leaves office in January 2009, it is hoped that there will be a strong enough vote for the moratorium (2/3 of the House and Senate) to hold off until that time to re-address the issue.
Those who would be hurt most if Bush gets his way would be Children and Individuals with Disabilities. Special education services would be cut and services that allow individuals with disabilities to stay in their own homes and maintain home health services could lose essential benefits. In addition, indigent individuals would lose critical treatment and services.
Congress is fighting hard to stop President Bush from vetoing the moratorium. There is an excellent chance that Congress will win and the president will not be able to use his veto power.
This is an important issue to keep an eye on. Though states, communities and individuals will not feel the crunch immediately if the president has his way, it is still critical for all Medicaid recipients to stay aware of.
