[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

I tried to answer the question about Medicare costs and how cutting Medicare Advantage subisides to insurance providers does not mean a cut to seniors..in fact, what the bill does, in effect, is eliminate much of the two-tiered system (basic Medicare + Medicare Advantage) by cutting payments to M-A providers and "pushing" some "enhanced" services back to the basic program. This will particularly benefit seniors in rural areas.

You have stated it but you have so far been unable to back it up with hard data to prove that is what is going to happen. You have ignored the fact that providers may just refuse to accept Medicare patients, as many already do, in larger numbers, further reducing access to care and increasing wait times. The largest fall out is that the bill pushes these costs back onto seniors and the predictions among many experts, Redux you are not one of them, state that service will be decreased or eliminated from through the loss of Medicare Advantage and if they want them they will have to pay for them. In otherwords they will not be available in the "basic program" at all. If they were why do you think Congress came up with the plan to gain savings by cutting the program? It is not cost shifting, it is cost elimination.

And I tried to answer the question about controlling premium costs through greater competition (and regulation) provided through the Insurance Exchange that will be tied to relative average costs in each market in the country and will require industry concessions in order to particiate in the Exchange.

There is little concrete data to support the idea that an insurance exchange will actually work.

If you think all of Merc's endless partisan editorials are more accurate, hey, thats fine too.

Look back at the majority of my links they are from a spectrum of sources. Some partisan, the majority are not and many come from mainstream sources.

And if Merc wants to represent himself as the great "consumer advocate"...great, more power to him.

I don't represent one side, the current Demoncratic one. I represent many of the other sides. None of them partisan unless you want to say that anyone not supporting the Dems is partisan.

I have said repeatedly, folks should read and listen to all sides, then decide on their own.

Wow... common sense trys to rear it's ugly head.