Impeding changes to our Health Care system

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

What a whinny cop out. You fail.

Your face fails.:p

[xoxoxoBruce]

We don't look so good.

[SamIam]

Do you know what those numbers represent, Bruce? I didn't see an explanation of them on the site, but maybe I overlooked something.

[Shawnee123]

Typically, numbers signify a 'quantity' or a 'unit' of something.

[TheMercenary]

Numbers which signify something:

http://razorbillpress.com/images/PRsinecyl.jpg

[jinx]

Do you know what those numbers represent, Bruce?

They compare life expectancy to cost of health care in different countries. Lots of different ways to interpret that thought.

[classicman]

I want the Mexican plan - then there will be no reason for them to come here.

KIDDING!

[jinx]

We should all go there... they have the cheap drugs and the nice weather... srsly, I'm in.

I would like to see some other numbers added... like
*number of hours spent on ass
*percent of overweight or obese
*percent of meals made up of processed garbage
*percent of population on ANY prescribed medication
*percent on high priced (compared to other countries) daily dose medications that end up causing more harm than good and eventually in a class action lawsuit
*percent on drugs to make their eyelashes thicker, help them quit smoking, fall asleep faster, lose weight etc etc

[TheMercenary]

The mexican drug cartel plan?

[TheMercenary]

Well I wonder what in the new nearly 1 Trillion dollar plan from the Dems has done to address these findings?

26 Oct 2009

Waste in the U.S. Healthcare System Pegged at $700 Billion in Report from Thomson Reuters
Ann Arbor, MI October 26, 2009 - The U.S. healthcare system wastes between $600 billion and $850 billion annually, according to a white paper published today by Thomson Reuters.

The report identifies the most significant drivers of wasteful spending - including administrative inefficiency, unnecessary treatment, medical errors, and fraud - and quantifies their cost. It is based on a review of published research and analyses of proprietary healthcare data.

"The bad news is that an estimated $700 billion is wasted annually. That's one-third of the nation's healthcare bill," said Robert Kelley, vice president of healthcare analytics at Thomson Reuters and author of the white paper. "The good news is that by attacking waste, healthcare costs can be reduced without adversely affecting the quality of care or access to care.

"That's the point of this report - to identify areas in the healthcare system that can generate game-changing savings," Kelley said.

Here are some of the study's key findings:

Unnecessary Care (40% of healthcare waste): Unwarranted treatment, such as the over-use of antibiotics and the use of diagnostic lab tests to protect against malpractice exposure, accounts for $250 billion to $325 billion in annual healthcare spending.

Fraud (19% of healthcare waste): Healthcare fraud costs $125 billion to $175 billion each year, manifesting itself in everything from fraudulent Medicare claims to kickbacks for referrals for unnecessary services.

Administrative Inefficiency (17% of healthcare waste): The large volume of redundant paperwork in the U.S healthcare system accounts for $100 billion to $150 billion in spending annually.

Healthcare Provider Errors (12% of healthcare waste): Medical mistakes account for $75 billion to $100 billion in unnecessary spending each year.

Preventable Conditions (6% of healthcare waste): Approximately $25 billion to $50 billion is spent annually on hospitalizations to address conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes, which are much less costly to treat when individuals receive timely access to outpatient care.

Lack of Care Coordination (6% of healthcare waste): Inefficient communication between providers, including lack of access to medical records when specialists intervene, leads to duplication of tests and inappropriate treatments that cost $25 billion to $50 billion annually.

http://thomsonreuters.com/content/pr...lthcare_system

further:

"The average U.S. hospital spends one-quarter of its budget on billing and administration, nearly twice the average in Canada," reads the report, citing dozens of other research papers.

"American physicians spend nearly eight hours per week on paperwork and employ 1.66 clerical workers per doctor, far more than in Canada," it says, quoting a 2003 New England Journal of Medicine paper by Harvard University researcher Dr. Steffie Woolhandler.

Yet primary care doctors are lacking, forcing wasteful use of emergency rooms, for instance, the report reads.

All this could help explain why Americans spend more per capita and the highest percentage of GDP on healthcare than any other OECD country, yet has an unhealthier population with more diabetes, obesity and heart disease and higher rates of neonatal deaths than other developed nations.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...59P0L320091026

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by jinx

We should all go there... they have the cheap drugs and the nice weather... srsly, I'm in.

I would like to see some other numbers added... like
*number of hours spent on ass
*percent of overweight or obese
*percent of meals made up of processed garbage
*percent of population on ANY prescribed medication
*percent on high priced (compared to other countries) daily dose medications that end up causing more harm than good and eventually in a class action lawsuit
*percent on drugs to make their eyelashes thicker, help them quit smoking, fall asleep faster, lose weight etc etc

:p

Now, about the ass hours: do they count if your job requires extensive ass-sitting?

Statistics, you can make them say just about anything!

[TheMercenary]

CBO Puts House Health Bill Total Cost At $1.055 Trillion

Nice....

The costs of the bill are fully offset by cuts to existing spending programs-- including the Medicare Advantage and other programs--saving $426 billion through 2019, and by tax increases raising $572 billion over that time

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-mar...-1055-trillion

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

CBO Puts House Health Bill Total Cost At $1.055 Trillion

Nice....

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-mar...-1055-trillion

Yep...very nice!

The bulk of that $572 billion in tax increases are surtaxes on income over $500K (single) and $1 million (couple).

The bulk of the savings are from cutting payments to insurance companies providing enhanced services to those seniors who can afford to pay more through Medicare Advantage and rolling those services back to basic Medicare for all seniors.....minimizing the current two-tier Medicare system.

I like it!

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

Yep...very nice!

The bulk of the savings are from cutting payments to insurance companies providing enhanced services to those seniors who can afford to pay more through Medicare Advantage and rolling those services back to basic Medicare for all seniors.....minimizing the current two-tier Medicare system.

I like it!

Fail. Why do you want to take away insurace from seniors? Who says you know what they can or cannot afford as a block group? Why should older people pay for the younger people who are healthy by cutting their insurance? In his Joint Session speech President Obama promised that no one on Medicare would be forced to lose the coverage they have now. So he basically lied to the seniors. How do you save money on Medicare when the government has been unable to control waste, fraud, and abuse since the inception of Medicare? More smoke and Mirrors by the Demoncrats....

[TheMercenary]

The cost of cutting Medicare Advantage. I share this opinion.

Medicare, the nation’s health insurance program for disabled and elderly persons, turned 44 this week. The President and many Democrats want to make changes to the aging program as a part of health care reform. For instance, President Obama told the American Association of Retired Persons on July 28 that he wants to eliminate 177 billion in subsidies to the popular Medicare Advantage programs.

Although the President told the AARP, “nobody is talking about trying to change Medicare benefits,” many senior citizens are worried. And those who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans may have reason to worry. Although Mr. Obama considers Medicare Advantage an example of wasteful spending, the plans are popular with seniors because they offer benefits and care coordination which basic Medicare plans do not provide.

Some physicians and health plans are nervous as well.

For instance, this week, Dr. Mark Hoffing of Palm Springs, California, led a delegation of elderly patients to the capital for some citizen lobbying. They presented 10,000 signatures to legislators in an attempt to persuade them to leave Medicare Advantage plans intact.

Truly, Medicare Advantage plans are popular. According to John O’Brien, Assistant Professor of Clinical and Administrative Sciences, College of Notre Dame School of Pharmacy, the proposed cuts are “a step backward” and would undermine plans which seniors appreciate.

"Medicare Advantage plans are innovative health insurance products that have led the way in patient-centered care; 97% percent of MA enrollees are happy with the affordability and access their plan provides,” O’Brien explained.

According to a CBS News report, the President also told the AARP that reform “would put more focus on prevention and wellness efforts and incentivizing quality of care rather than quantity. That's what health care reform will mean to folks on Medicare."

Ironically, that is what Medicare Advantage plans are designed to do now.

Basic Medicare covers outpatient, inpatient and some prescription costs, but there are significant gaps. Using federal funds, Medicare Advantage allows private insurers to manage the basic Medicare benefits plus provide additional services that Medicare does not cover, such as wellness services, dental care, hearing and vision screening. Most Medicare Advantage plans also provide prescription drug options which are often easier to use and understand than the basic Medicare, Part D coverage.

Speaking of Part D, the President promises that his reform plan will close the gaps in prescription coverage. However, he fails to note that Medicare Advantage plans frequently cover prescription drugs more fully than basic Medicare. It is difficult to understand how the current House backed plan will save 177 billion while at the same time erasing the gap in current basic drug coverage.

President Obama claims the subsidies paid to insurers are “waste” which can be cut. However, what this assessment misses is the fact that the need for health care covered by Medicare Advantage plans will not go away because the funding scheme is altered. Somebody has to pay. According to Andrea Zachar with Knepper Insurance in Somerset, Pennsylvania, Medicare Advantage plans provide an important option for Medicare beneficiaries.

“We are seeing people gravitating toward the Medicare Advantage because monthly costs are lower than purchasing a supplemental insurance plan along with straight Medicare,” Zachar said. “If Advantage plans go away, then some seniors may not access certain services because they cannot afford them,” she added.
This amounts to a cost shift from the government to senior citizens and the disabled.

In practice, seniors who are now in Medicare Advantage plans may well see their benefits reduced if the funding structures are altered. The President is technically correct when he says, “nobody is talking about trying to change Medicare benefits,” if by that he means the basic Medicare benefit package. However, for people, often low income and rural residents, who rely on those additional services covered by Medicare Advantage, reductions in benefits or increases in premiums seem likely. The other possible outcome, which no one likes to talk about, is that seniors will simply avoid preventative care, doctor’s visits, and other needed services, thereby putting their health at risk.

There is some evidence that Medicare Advantage plans improve important aspects of patient care. According to a study reported this month by the America’s Health Insurance Plans, Medicare Advantage plans had lower hospital utilization rates and fewer hospital readmissions among groups of patients with heart disease and diabetes. Some preliminary data indicated better health status as well. Perhaps Medicare Advantage plans should be studied, not eliminated.

For sure, there are aspects of Medicare Advantage that need tweaking.

“The bizarre thing about these plans is that the government does not pay insurers equally nationwide. Moneys are distributed by counties, based on previous year utilization.” Katalin Goencz, with MedBillsAssist told me. Ms. Goencz added that in many parts of the country, the plans are working well; elsewhere, not so much. When asked if she thought the Medicare Advantage should be cut, she said, the government “…should make some cuts to eliminate some of the poorly performing plans, but that is about all.”

Making those poorly performing plans either improve or get out of the Medicare market is a good idea. The President cannot raise benefits in basic Medicare and maintain his promise to cut spending and he cannot cut Medicare Advantage without low income seniors losing benefits, spending more or avoiding necessary care. As configured, the President’s plan for Medicare is not the change we need.

http://www.opposingviews.com/article...change-we-need