Posts Tagged ‘Republicans’
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
Private detectives retained by Medicare required an average of six months to refer fraud cases to law enforcement officials, according to congressional investigators. The average lag time was 178 days - and by then, many cases are so cold that catching the perpetrators is virtually impossible, as is recovering taxpayer dollars. Recently, an inspector general report had questions about the contractors who play a leading role in Medicare’s efforts to rein in fraud. In 2007, private contractors identified $835 million in problematic Medicare payments. The government was able to recover only about $55 million or seven percent of the total, according to the report.
Medicare overpayments - which typically range from a billing error to a brazen swindle - totaled more than $36 billion in 2009, according to the Obama administration. That’s why President Obama has placed a high priority on fighting fraud and waste in the hope that the savings will help fund the new healthcare law. The opposition - in the form of Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) - questions whether taxpayers are getting a good deal from Medicare’s private eyes. His office is reviewing Medicare data from the last four years to determine why it took so long to refer fraud cases to law enforcement officials. According to Grassley, “Medicare is already a pay-and-chase system when it comes to fraud, waste and abuse. Providers are paid first; then questioned if there’s a problem. Add to that mix contractors who sit on cases of ongoing fraud when they should be referring them to law enforcement, and you have a recipe for disaster.”
Medicare retains seven private companies - collectively known as “Program Safeguard Contractors” - at work to find fraud, a program that was started in the late 1990s. These contractors, who oversee specific areas, investigate accusations of misconduct and work with the government’s criminal investigators.
Tags: Congress, Medicare, Obama administration, Republicans, taxpayers
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
Senate Republicans want to fast-track an amendment that repeals a portion of the new healthcare reform law. Whether or not they will be able to accomplish this is another question.
Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) has proposed legislation to rescind a provision in the new law that requires businesses to report purchases of $600 or more to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Business lobbyists such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) both support the legislation. Republicans want to attach the repeal provision to a broader bill intended to help small businesses. According to the Chamber and the NFIB, the provision places a burdensome obligation on the nation’s 40 million small businesses. Under this provision of the healthcare reform bill, businesses are required to file an IRS 1099 form for non-credit card purchases totaling $600 or more. Johanns says that rule is “overly burdensome.”
To make up for the $17 billion that the provision would raise, Johanns has proposed reducing the individual mandate threshold and defer $16 billion in funding for wellness programs. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and other Republicans have introduced legislation that would kill the Independent Payment Advisory Board that the healthcare reform law created. Democratic Senators who wrote the legislation counter that the board is needed to reduce consistently increasing healthcare costs.
Tags: Democrats, healthcare reform, IRS, John Cornyn, Lobbyists, Mike Johanns, Republicans, US Chamber of Commerce
Posted in Healthcare, Healthcare Village, Wellness Centers | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
Although between 5.8 and seven million Americans may qualify for healthcare coverage through the temporary high-risk pool program created as part of healthcare reform, the $5 billion set aside for use between now and 2014 may cover only 200,000 patients annually.
The high-risk pool, created by the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, provides subsidized coverage to uninsured individuals with pre-existing medical conditions. One portion of the law provides income-based subsidies so healthcare coverage is more affordable and accessible. Because most of the provisions do not become effective until January of 2014, however, the limited funding means available dollars will have to be stretched as far as possible, said Paul B. Ginsburg, Ph.D., NICHR director of research. The National Institute for Health Care Reform (NIHCR) has identified key policy considerations in its Health Coverage for the High-Risk Uninsured: Policy Options for Design of the Temporary High-Risk Pool policy analysis.
According to Kaiser Health News, many people with medical conditions may be unable to obtain coverage. “That fear — along with partisan considerations — prompted officials in 20 states to decline to establish their own federally financed pools, opting to leave the task to Washington. Officials in those states, predominantly Republicans, worry that they would face intense pressure to pick up the burden if the money runs out.”
Tags: healthcare reform, high-risk pools, Kaiser Health News, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Republicans
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »
Monday, June 28th, 2010
President Barack Obama has called on Congress to enact a patch on Medicare payments to physicians and declared his commitment to achieving a long-term solution. “For years, I have said that a system where doctors are left to wonder if they’ll get fairly reimbursed makes absolutely no sense,” the President said. “And I’m committed to permanently reforming this Medicare formula in a way that balances fiscal responsibility with the responsibility we have to doctors and seniors.” The President’s statement came after legislation that would give physicians 18 months of pay raises stalled in the Senate. Instead, a 21 percent pay cut will go into effect unless the Senate acts to prevent that.
According to an American Medical Association survey, approximately 20 percent of physicians have said they are limiting the number of Medicare patients they treat because of the reimbursement levels. In his speech, President Obama took to task Congressional Republicans who have stalled the legislation. A significant number of Republicans - and some Democrats - are unhappy with the price tag on the “physician fix”, which would cost approximately $22 billion over 18 months. A 10-year fix would cost in the neighborhood of $200 billion.
The American Osteopathic Association, American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Family Physicians are on record as supporting the amendment, even though it doesn’t completely restructure the way physicians are reimbursed by Medicare.
Tags: American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, Congress, Democrats, Medicare, Medicare patch, Physician fix, President Barack Obama, Republicans, Senate, senior citizens
Posted in Healthcare, Hospital Systems | No Comments »
Monday, May 24th, 2010
Although healthcare reform legislation is now the law of the land, Representative John Boehner (R-OH), the House Minority Leader, is still not shy about communicating his distaste for the bill. Recently, Boehner sent a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, citing increased cost estimates, job-loss information and what he perceives as a lack of follow-through on an executive order regarding abortion coverage that the GOP finds troubling.
Boehner’s letter is a response to a recent statement by Secretary Sebelius, which stressed the law’s initial deliverables, including health insurance reform and tax credits available to small businesses. “Now I’ve seen my fair share of propaganda, but this letter must have been written in an alternate universe,” Boehner said. Republicans have uniformly opposed the healthcare bill throughout the process; the majority claim that it will increase costs. Additionally, the GOP hopes that the healthcare law will guarantee them a majority victory over Democrats in November’s mid-term elections. The GOP is expected to win more mid-term elections in the House versus the Senate.
Sebelius said that “Now, I want to be clear: the Affordable Care Act is not a magic pill that will cure all the problems in our health care system. It will take time for all the benefits to kick in. And if you look at the history of major social legislation, you see that there are always revisions and adjustments along the way.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sides with Sebelius, saying “We’re very pleased with the unfolding of the healthcare bill, In a bigger sense, it is about a healthier America.”
Tags: Democrats, Department of Health and Human Services, executive orders, GOP, healthcare reform, House Minority Leader, John Boehner, Kathleen Sebelius, mid-term elections, Nancy Pelosi, Ohio, propaganda, Republicans, tax credits
Posted in Economics, Healthcare | 2 Comments »
Thursday, May 20th, 2010
“The Terminator” has changed his mind. Although he originally opposed healthcare reform as the legislation moved through Congress, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger now fully supports the new federal law. In a speech at the University of California at Davis Medical Center, the governor - who cannot run for re-election because of term limits — broke rank with his fellow Republicans, many of whom have announced their intention to sue the federal government to overturn the law.
“California is not part of this fight, and I’ll tell you why,” according to Schwarzenegger. “When you don’t have health insurance and you go to the hospital, you are forcing other people to pay for your healthcare.” Twenty percent of California residents lack healthcare insurance, a situation that Schwarzenegger says is a crisis that requires resolution. “The bottom line is the plan is not without flaws, but it is a good law,” he said. To fill the void, California is launching a temporary high-risk insurance pool to cover the uninsured that will be funded by $761 million in Department of Health and Human Services money through 2014.
Schwarzenegger also vowed to enforce the law, to the point of making certain that the state’s insurers comply with bans on lifetime spending caps. If necessary, he will call the state Legislature into a special session to make statutory changes to comply with the act’s provisions. “We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and work with the federal government to get this done,” the governor said.
Tags: Arnold Schqarzenegger, California, Congress, Davis Medical Center, Department of Health and Human Services, Governors, healthcare reform legislation, Kathleen Seblius, lifetime spending caps, President Barack Obama, Republicans, The Terminator, University of California
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
Mount Dora, FL, urologist Dr. Jack Cassell is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame after posting a typewritten sign on his office door that tells patients who voted for President Barack Obama to seek healthcare “elsewhere”. The sign reads: “If you voted for Obama…seek urologic care elsewhere. Changes to your healthcare begin right now, not in four years.” Cassell, a registered Republican who opposes healthcare reform, says “I’m not turning anybody away - that would be unethical.”
William Allen, a professor of bioethics, law and medical professionalism at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine, believes that Cassell might be walking a fine line between his right to free speech and his professional obligation. Physicians are not allowed to refuse patients on the basis of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or disability; but political preference is not one of the legally protected groups specified in civil rights laws. Because Cassell does not ask his patients who they voted for, he is “trying to hold onto the nub of his ethical obligation,” Allen said. “But this is pushing the limit.”
Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL), whose district includes Mount Dora and who last fall criticized the Republican approach to healthcare reform as “If you get sick, America…die quickly”, called Cassell’s sign “Ridiculous. I’m disgusted.” According to the first-term Congressman, “Maybe he thinks the Hippocratic Oath says ‘Do no good.’ If this is the face of the right wing in America, it’s the face of cruelty. Why don’t they change the name of the Republican Party to the Sore Loser Party?”
Tags: Alan Grayson, Florida Medical Association, free speech, GOP, Jack Cassell, Leslie Campione, Mount Dora FL, President Barack Obama, Republicans, right wing, Sore Loser Party, University of Florida College of Medicine, urologist
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Monday, April 19th, 2010
The death of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) last August - who had made healthcare reform the focus of his legislative agenda — provided much of the impetus that gave President Barack Obama the determination to pass legislation despite resistance from both the right and left. The lack of Kennedy’s legendary legislative skills at a crucial time made the quest for healthcare reform a fight every step of the way.
“I had a whole bunch of political advisers telling me, this may not be the smartest thing to do,” President Obama told a crowd in Elyria, OH, in January. “I had no illusions when I took this on that this was going to be hard. Seven presidents had tried it, seven Congresses had tried it - and all of them failed. I didn’t take this on to score political points.”
The White House team pored over the failed healthcare reform effort of former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, in 1993 and 1994. One lesson from the Clinton healthcare failure was to work to win support from healthcare companies, many of whom had put an end to the earlier attempt. As a result, President Obama brought pharmaceutical companies and hospitals into the discussion to assure a limited impact on their profits in return for financial contributions to the overhaul and a promise of support. The administration also preferred that Congress write the legislation, rather than having it dictated from the White House.
Without doubt, the president’s most effective ally was Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who rode herd on her caucus and delivered a majority vote on the legislation three times. According to Pelosi, “When I spoke with him (President Obama) after the vote, he said that he was happier after the vote than he was the night he won the presidency. “And I said, well, I’m pretty happy, but I’m not happier than the night he won the presidency because if you hadn’t won the presidency, we wouldn’t be here.”
Tags: Bill Clinton, Congress, Democrats, healthcare reform, Hillary Clinton, Medicare, Nancy Pelosi, President Barack Obama, Republicans, Tea Party movement, Ted Kennedy, Waterloo
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Thursday, April 15th, 2010
After a bruising 14-month battle, Congressional Democrats finally passed healthcare reform legislation without a single Republican “yes” in the final vote tally. According to The Hill, the speed with which Democrats passed the bill and sent it to President Barack Obama for his signature may have some Republicans feeling “whiplash”. As the Congressional Easter/Passover recess begins and Senators and Congressmen head to their home districts, some Republicans are threatening a “repeal and replace” effort to which President Obama reacted by saying “They’re actually going to run on a platform of repeal in November. Well, I say go for it.”
The Hill argues that some Republicans have doubts about the success of “repeal and replace”, realizing that not only did they lose, but they also have lost any claim to the advantages that will emerge from the largest expansion of the nation’s social safety net in a generation. According to Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) “Our constituents expect us to stand up and fight the good fight, but there’s always a reasonableness factor that needs to come into place. Sometimes there’s a fine line between what is being an advocate for your cause and when you become obstreperous.”
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) “had initially planned to offer scores of amendments to stall the healthcare reform fixes and stop Democrats from putting the finishing touches on the legislation,” according to The Hill. DeMint notes that “The leadership has asked us to focus on substantive amendments. I had 50 amendments. I still have them in my back pocket, but I’ll probably only offer two or three.” DeMint introduced just a single amendment, which was defeated.
David Frum, a speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, put it this way: “Barack Obama badly wanted Republican votes for his plan. Could we have leveraged his desire to align the plan more closely with conservative views? Too late now. They are all law
Tags: backlash, David Frum, Democrats, healthcare reform, Jim DeMint, Lisa Murkowski, President Barack Obama, Republicans, whiplash
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
Monday, April 12th, 2010
Are Republicans advocating for repeal of the recently passed healthcare reform bill suffering from a bad case of sour grapes? Many Americans who are unhappy with the legislation are already saying they will vote Republican in the November mid-term elections in a demonstration of their displeasure with healthcare reform. Not 24 hours after the bill passed with a Democrats-only majority, repeal emails were flying through cyberspace from Republican Congressional hopefuls.
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) posted a call for repeal on his website, saying he would introduce legislation to repeal “President Obama’s government takeover of healthcare. Unless this trillion-dollar assault on our freedoms is repealed, it will force Americans to purchase Washington-approved health plans or face stiff penalties. It will fund abortions, raise taxes and insurance premiums, while reducing healthcare choices and quality.”
Representative Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) posted on the conservative Townhall.com website that she had “filed legislation to repeal Obamacare in hopes that we can start from scratch and give the American people true healthcare reform that won’t break the bank nor rob us of our individual liberty and freedom. There’s too much at stake to simply give up now.” Bachmann offered no specific proposals on how she would work to achieve healthcare reform.
With Democrats controlling both the House of Representatives and the Senate, repeal is unlikely.
Tags: Barack Obama, Congress, Democrats, Harry Reid, healthcare reform, John McCain, Michele Bachmann, Nancy Pelosi, Obamacare, Republicans, sour grapes
Posted in Healthcare | No Comments »
