Entries Tagged 'Legislative News' ↓
February 14th, 2008 — Legislative News
Now that the Stimulus Bill is finalized discussions on a Medicare Bill will heat up. I am hearing from the Senate Finance Committee an April markup of a Medicare Bill is probable.
A divided Congress could only pass a 6-month Medicare patch December 2007. The one bipartisan part of the patch was what is termed the “doc fix”. Physicians were due a Medicare payment cut in 2008. The Medicare Bill only patched the “doc fix” through June 2008. Congress is wanting a long-term “doc fix” which would also likely include increased funding for SCHIP. The goal of a large Medicare Bill this spring might be an ambitious goal considering 2008 is an election year. Continue reading →
February 12th, 2008 — Legislative News
Don’t get me wrong. I am not against making affordable health care available to every American. In fact, I believe health coverage for every American is a mandate Congress must achieve. I am against expanding a completely broken system though. No one, in their right mind, would build a new house on an old, crumbling foundation.
Prior to World War II, there was no health insurance and costs were low. As health insurance began to grow, along with the percentage of every dollar spent on health care by third parties (insurance), we saw a parallel increase in health care costs. Increased utilization is indeed the primary driver of rising health care costs in the U.S., according to a recent study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. And increased utilization is fueled by the gradual removal of the American consumer from the equation. Continue reading →
February 4th, 2008 — Legislative News
Tell me something I don’t know. Is that what you are thinking? I didn’t realize how broken Washington was until I became involved in the health care crisis.
Michael Leavitt said this morning that Medicare is at a critical point. He is right. I promise, though, nothing constructive will be done about it. Why?
The answer is simple. Political Action Committees and their lobby. Everyone is looking out for themselves and their own pockets. Unfortunately, few are looking out for the best interests of America. Politicians are no different than a computer. When they get crap information, crap will come out in legislation and they get fed a bunch of crap by these Hill people.
It doesn’t matter whether it is the A.M.A. or AARP, the greed of special interest groups is threatening our way of life.
The number one issue in this coming election isn’t the war in Iraq. It isn’t the economy, abortion or any of the other issues touted in the media or by the candidites. The number one issue, for the long-term health of America, is campaign finance reform along with the elimination of special interest groups on the Hill.
February 2nd, 2008 — Legislative News
I have been active in the fight for Medicare beneficiaries to retain benefits but have obviously not been posting here for a few months.
Over the past couple of months, Medicare benefits narrowly escaped some drastic cuts when Congress couldn’t pass a broad Medicare bill at the end of 2007. Congress did pass a stopgap measure that lasts through June 2008. Now, the challenge is to pass a more far reaching package prior to June. These Medicare updates are merely patches to a program in desperate need of a major overhaul.
In coming posts I will be addressing the problems facing heath care along with the reasons nothing constructive gets accomplished.
For now, I will keep this short and sweet. Regular articles will follow. Our health care system can be fixed and the worst possible fix is to expand the current system into “universal coverage”. The idea of “universal coverage” is a great goal but only when applied to major reform to the whole concept of paying for health care.
October 5th, 2007 — Legislative News
The following is a response from Senator Tester to a letter I sent his office:
Dear Robert:
As someone who has written me with your concerns about cuts in Medicare benefits for durable medical equipment (DME), such as home oxygen, I wanted to let you know that I recently cosponsored the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Access Act of 2007 (S. 1428).I don’t think it’s fair to put more burdens on folks who rely on DME to live independently. S. 1428 amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit awarding any contracts under the competitive DME items and services acquisition program without considerations of quality standards and input from the program oversight committee. It also permits small business suppliers to continue to participate at the single payment amount. I believe this legislation will enable folks who rely on DME to stay in their homes instead of ending up in the hospital incurring significant costs both to themselves and Medicare. I appreciate the time that you have taken to be involved and informed about this matter. Please don’t hesitate to contact me again in the future with your concerns or if I can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Jon Tester
United States Senator
