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Go ToPapers
- -Editorial: Two Views of Medicare's Future (U.S. News)
"Total Medicare expenses last year thus were $550 billion, with the government footing nearly half that bill. Over the next 11 years, this deficit will dwarf the $716 billion figure. So whether these cuts are a good or bad thing, they don't begin to get us out of our spiraling entitlements deficits."
"Making these larger and sustainable cuts is a long-term challenge. The more immediate decision that voters must confront in November is how much of our rising Medicare deficit should be paid for by Washington and how much should be shifted onto individuals. Fiscal experts in both parties agree that spending on defense and other government programs is being squeezed more and more each year by healthcare spending."
"Obama's view of future fiscal policy is that health reform can restrain future healthcare cost increases and permit government to maintain important safety nets. Romney says the programs have caused the problem in the first place and that the best way to fix them is to reduce government's role and return responsibility and control (and a big piece of the price tag) back to individuals." 08-12
- -Obama's Medicare Cuts (Time.com)
"First, the context. The Congressional Budget Office estimates Medicare spending over the next 10 years will be about $7.5 trillion. This means the ACA’s Medicare cuts account for less than 10% of overall Medicare spending. The program is not being gutted. Even with the ACA cuts, the CBO says the cost of Medicare is expected to grow from about $500 billion in 2012 to nearly $900 billion by 2022."
"As for the cuts, they come from eliminating a massive subsidy to private insurers and gradually reducing the rate of growth in payments to some providers. These changes, while not catastrophic for Medicare, are important." 08-12
- -Seniors Saved $3.7 Billion Under Health Care Act (CNN News)
"More than 5.2 million Medicare beneficiaries have saved a total of $3.7 billion on their prescription drugs since the health care reform law went into effect, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Monday."
"The Affordable Care Act -- also known as health care reform -- which passed in 2010 mandated financial relief for seniors who fall into Medicare's so-called 'donut hole.' " 06-12
- -The Medicare Difference Between Republicans and Democrats (Time.com)
"Both Ryan’s most recent plan and Obama’s most recent budget strive to contain the growth of Medicare expenses to the same rate—GDP +0.5%. The difference is in how those costs are contained. This is incredibly important—Klein frames the debate as being over an effort to save money by improving quality (via the Affordable Care Act on the Democratic side) versus trusting the free market to reduce prices (on the Republican side). Neither of these approaches have been proven to lower costs, as noted by Klein." 08-12
- Best Health Insurance Providers (ConsumerHealthRatings.com)
Provides ratings and reviews from J.D. Powers, Consumer Reports, and U.S. News. 09-10
- Best Health Insurance Providers (FreeAdvice.com)
Provides ratings. 09-10
- Medicare Unsustainable (MSNBC News)
"The estimates by economists Eugene Steuerle and Stephanie Rennane of the Urban Institute think tank illustrate the huge disconnect between widely-held perceptions and the numbers behind Medicare's shaky financing. Although Americans are worried about Medicare's long-term solvency, few realize the size of the gap." 12-10
- Monopolies Feared as Health Law Rewards Cooperation (New York Times)
"When Congress passed the health care law, it envisioned doctors and hospitals joining forces, coordinating care and holding down costs, with the prospect of earning government bonuses for controlling costs."
"Now...there is a growing frenzy of mergers involving hospitals, clinics and doctor groups eager to share costs and savings, and cash in on the incentives. They, in turn, have deployed a small army of lawyers and lobbyists trying to persuade the Obama administration to relax or waive a body of older laws intended to thwart health care monopolies, and to protect against shoddy care and fraudulent billing of patients or Medicare." 11-10
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