Senate Health Care Plan...

[Conan71]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090616/ap_on_go_co/us_health_overhaul

"In a brief interview with The Associated Press, Baucus also disclosed he was "very close" to agreement with a handful of industry groups for them to accept hundreds of billions of dollars less in Medicare and Medicaid fees than they currently are projected to receive. He said the talks have involved insurance companies, hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical firms and the makers of medical devices, among others, but did not provide a specific figure for the savings overall."

I sure hope I'm wrong in my interpretation, but I don't see how this would improve overall care for individuals when the government mandates lower fee structure for Medicare and Medicaid patients unless the medical industry is getting by at a much higher profit margin than the rest of the business world and can sustain the same level of care and still operate at a decent profit.  At what point do lower fees translate into a lowering of standards and lowering of budgets for facilities, and finally a lower standard of living for health care professionals and what finally comes back into the economy from employer and employee spending?  At what point do essential jobs get cut back on the lower ends of the medical ladder so facilities can stay afloat?

Wealthy doctors are only a portion of the healthcare employment picture.  Don't forget about RN's, LPN's, all sorts of healthcare techs, and assistants.  Doctors are out-numbered when it comes to medical-related payroll.  What happens 10 years down the road when healthcare facilities cannot afford the debt service on their updated facilities and equipment?  They will come to the gov't for a bail-out, or cut back which impacts manufacturers of medical equipment, engineering and construction, etc. ad nauseum.

I'd love to see the waste taken out of Medicare and Medicaid, but taking it out of the actual fees earned by providers, I think, could have unintended consequences for the patient.

[FOTD]

 Trust FOTD. Obama will cave, the Democans will cave. Money talks, BS walks.


If the Gang Of Pirates think that the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat, it is not any part of Bipartisan to accommodate them and roll over and play dead.

[guido911]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090616/ap_on_go_co/us_health_overhaul

"In a brief interview with The Associated Press, Baucus also disclosed he was "very close" to agreement with a handful of industry groups for them to accept hundreds of billions of dollars less in Medicare and Medicaid fees than they currently are projected to receive. He said the talks have involved insurance companies, hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical firms and the makers of medical devices, among others, but did not provide a specific figure for the savings overall."

I sure hope I'm wrong in my interpretation, but I don't see how this would improve overall care for individuals when the government mandates lower fee structure for Medicare and Medicaid patients unless the medical industry is getting by at a much higher profit margin than the rest of the business world and can sustain the same level of care and still operate at a decent profit.  At what point do lower fees translate into a lowering of standards and lowering of budgets for facilities, and finally a lower standard of living for health care professionals and what finally comes back into the economy from employer and employee spending?  At what point do essential jobs get cut back on the lower ends of the medical ladder so facilities can stay afloat?

Wealthy doctors are only a portion of the healthcare employment picture.  Don't forget about RN's, LPN's, all sorts of healthcare techs, and assistants.  Doctors are out-numbered when it comes to medical-related payroll.  What happens 10 years down the road when healthcare facilities cannot afford the debt service on their updated facilities and equipment?  They will come to the gov't for a bail-out, or cut back which impacts manufacturers of medical equipment, engineering and construction, etc. ad nauseum.

I'd love to see the waste taken out of Medicare and Medicaid, but taking it out of the actual fees earned by providers, I think, could have unintended consequences for the patient.

I wonder if Baucus is negotiating with trial lawyers to decrease their income or filings of bogus med mal lawsuits as well. Doubt it. 

[FOTD]

I wonder if Baucus is negotiating with trial lawyers to decrease their income or filings of bogus med mal lawsuits as well. Doubt it. 

Trial lawyers ain't the problem here. But keep using that as a distraction from the solution like your fellow obstructionists.

[Conan71]

I wonder if Baucus is negotiating with trial lawyers to decrease their income or filings of bogus med mal lawsuits as well. Doubt it. 

Yeah, sure he is.  I heard he's got John Edwards helping him out with that.

[Gaspar]

Interesting development, the tone has changed.

The administration is dropping any ownership of this bill.  After the CBO released the figures showing that the bill will cost in excess of 1.6 trillion over the next 10 years, the administration seems to be backing away.

They announced that the Dodd-Kennedy healthcare bill "is not the administration's bill," according to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, and the media is now following suit.  Expectations for the ABC/Whitehouse town meeting are changing too as President Obama wants to avoid any discussion of the deficit.

[Conan71]

Interesting development, the tone has changed.

The administration is dropping any ownership of this bill.  After the CBO released the figures showing that the bill will cost in excess of 1.6 trillion over the next 10 years, the administration seems to be backing away.

They announced that the Dodd-Kennedy healthcare bill "is not the administration's bill," according to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, and the media is now following suit.  Expectations for the ABC/Whitehouse town meeting are changing too as President Obama wants to avoid any discussion of the deficit.

Problem is, even the $1.6 trillion is in no way a "one-time" cost, it's a moving target.

So now what happens?  Does this fade off like Hillarity care, when they start trying to re-tackle the economic mess and figure out there are more pressing issues?

My prediction: President Obama winds up proposing a compromise of $1.1 trillion or less that will do nothing but further line the pockets of the healthcare lobby and their clients with more gov't money.  We get some new regs out there, the gov't puts caps on salaries, creates a bigger and more deft bureaucracy and the stated goal of better patient care does not materialize.

Here's another reason socialized medicine like Brittain, Canada or any other "model" programs will not work here:  There are too many pigs feeding from the trough, too much corruption, and too many favors need to be repaid for all the campaign contributions flowing into the accounts of every lawmaker in Washington for it to happen entirely objectively.

[guido911]

Yeah, sure he is.  I heard he's got John Edwards helping him out with that.

You mean, the same John Edwards that cheated on his cancer-ridden wife, which aox apparently finds less appalling that Sen. Ensign's disclosed affair?

[Hoss]

You mean, the same John Edwards that cheated on his cancer-ridden wife, which aox apparently finds less appalling that Sen. Ensign's disclosed affair?

Maybe Sen. Ensign can ask ole Newt for some guidance through this....

[Conan71]

Maybe Sen. Ensign can ask ole Newt for some guidance through this....

or Je$$e Jack$on, cured President Clinton, didn't he?

[Conan71]

You mean, the same John Edwards that cheated on his cancer-ridden wife, which aox apparently finds less appalling that Sen. Ensign's disclosed affair?

That's different, he's a Democrat.