A frequent accusation against conservative Medicare reform proposals is that they would “end Medicare as we know it.” But the reality is that Obamacare has already accomplished this. One example is a new program that will, for the first time, attempt to pay for quality by penalizing hospitals that fail to meet bureaucratically created standards for quality and efficiency. Achieving better value in Medicare should be a goal of any serious reform plan, but the new law’s solution is unlikely to succeed. Instead, it will negatively impact patients and the …
Repeatedly, reports have shown that Obamacare will increase job loss. But what happens when those who are laid off are the workers meant to enable the health care law’s expanded access of care: namely, hospital employees? According to one hospital, layoffs of workers have already begun as a result of the new law. Leaders of Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana, said that although “the economy sparked this problem…the Obama Health Care Reform Act gave the hospital a one-two punch. While more people may soon get more health coverage, Obama’s …
The trumpets are blaring to announce with great fanfare another “historic” political deal designed to give a boost to the sagging fortunes of health care reform and convince the public real progress is being made. Hospitals are linking arms with the Obama Administration and Congressional leaders to announce “savings” of $150-155 billion over the next ten years. This is a shellgame that should fool no one. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, hospital expenditures between 2009 and 2018 will total $10.5 trillion. So the “savings” represent about …
