Millions of Americans who objected to the Healthcare law did so because they knew a lie when they heard one. A huge bill which most politicians had not read let alone openly debated was touted as covering forty million more Americans, cutting over 500 billion from Medicare and miraculously having no adverse effects on our healthcare.
The annual report on the future health of Medicare has been released and proves those skeptical Americans were so right. Headlines everywhere should highlight the courageous actions by the Medicare chief actuary, Richard Foster. Required to analyze and report on Obamacare in the exact fairy tale form passed by our politicians, Mr. Foster added to the annual Medicare report a second and damning analysis based on reality.
With 15 years of experience in Medicare analysis , Mr. Foster concludes that the assumptions on which the healthcare law is based “do not represent a reasonable expectation for actual program operations in either the short range . . . or the long range."
Mr. Foster's criticisms are shared by Stanford G. Ross and David M. Parker who have served as public trustees for Medicare. They stated in the NY Times ("Mislead on Medicare", Aug 14) that the overly optimistic body of the report will do real harm by producing an incorrect picture of the condition of the Medicare program and also will seriously confuse the issues involved.
This report with Foster's appendix is at https://www.cms.gov/ReportsTrustFunds/downloads/tr2010.pdf and his second analysis based on reality is at http://www.cms.gov/ActuarialStudies/Downloads/2010TRAlternativeScenario.pdf
The politicians who passed this law, and non-thinking media loudly spout only the rosy fiction of the calculations based on their fantasy projections. But the rest of us will find and read and disseminate Mr. Foster’s final appendix which effectively reveals the healthcare Trojan Horse this Congress and this President claim as achievement.
We Seniors are on notice that our decreased home values, retirement investments and investment income are not the only facets of our lives being assailed. We know that the new healthcare law debacle is a threat to the good healthcare we anticipate as a result of our years of working and saving and paying our taxes.
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When will the lemmings wake up and smell the coffee? You are spot on with your post-thank you Barbara! Reading that bill was a real eye opener but of course, I am only a commoner---members of Congress elected not to read it! My ins premium jumped up after passage ---by the time I hit Medicare age, who knows what those prem/deductibles w/be ---will there be drs still accepting medicare patients? and will some govt mandated gatekeeper decide if I am deserving of medical care? These are not idle myths ---take the time if you are in doubt and read the d*** thing before you cast another vote.
ReplyDeletefrom The free Dictionary:def of lemming
a member of any large group following an unthinking course towards mass destruction
Thanks for the executive summary Barbara, the reports (289 and 18 pages) are heavy going for me.
ReplyDeleteHave you looked at - Congressman Deutch recently introduced the Preserving Our Promise to Seniors Act, ”which would embrace the program and improve its benefits.” He is a warm fuzzy for this “cherished program” but its hard to trust any politician.
The whole Healthcare Bill is a sham, a giant give away to the Ins. and Drug Industry. The Health insurers have a anti trust exemption which allows them to operate with little or no competition, insuring higher profits, the Blues and a few others control it all. A state like Pa. has 12 million people and 3 Ins.Cos. controlling most of the policies. Obama takes a 90 billion payoff from the drug cos., thus, no competition for medicare drugs. The Politicians know all this and go along with the corrupt process. No savings and less services for the elderly. Bend over folks your politicians have screwed you again. Managed Care was not created for the purpose of healthcare cost containment, it was created to deny services and to kill patients off,realizing higher profits for the Ins.
ReplyDeleteIndustry. This has nothing to do with healthcare, It's Wall St taking care of it's bottom line. Vote all the scumbags out of office.
The lemmings you refer to, Mag, have little time to wake up and learn what this healthcare mandate is already doing to healthcare, especially for Seniors.
ReplyDeleteHospitals, nursing homes and our doctors must make a profit to continue to provide services. These businesses must and are well into planning to cope with cuts in Medicare reimbursements and added Medicaid customers.
Any business seeing lower revenue for even more of their products and services must change their business model to survive.
Seniors have the life experiences to know that there is no free ride. Something will give and, as Washington is operating right now, we voters are not the ones making those decisions.