Government Takeover? Or Not?

"....when you follow the dollars, there is no more evidence of a government takeover than there is of a private sector one."

Health Care Plan - LTE

Letter to Editor LinkLove this quote from the LTE:
"As I see it, the Paul Ryan Republican Tea Party health care plan is to put us in the basement of our outhouses and make us think we will come out with a new suit on! "
Ryan and his billionaire supporters think we're too dumb to see what they have us wearing.  I think it's time for us to uncover what they are trying to hide -- their real motivation and the real outcomes that will adversely affect the vast majority of us.

Report: Systems to catch Medicaid fraud inadequate

Click Here for article: Report: Systems to catch Medicaid fraud inadequate

It is always interesting to note that this medical vendor fraud issue always comes out relative to Medicare/Medicaid government payments. The majority of such fraud relates to the private insurance companies --the ones we all use and those same ones actually handle/pay the bulk of the Medicare/Medicaid medical bills. Those private insurance company problems with fraud are hidden from us - even when it affects our personal premiums and our tax burden. They hide it for business reasons -- competition. They hide it the same as credit card companies and banks avoid public notice of fraud. If all the medical bills were paid with the same system, monitoring and investigation would be much easier. With literally hundreds of medical bill payers out there (not including all of us individuals paying bills) the complexity just aids the fraudulent vendors.

Specialists Often Turn Away Kids With Public Insurance: Report

Specialists Often Turn Away Kids With Public Insurance: Report: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
"Two-thirds of kids with public insurance were unable to get a doctor's appointment, compared to 11 percent of privately insured children. Kids covered by Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) who did receive appointments also faced far longer average wait times -- 42 days to see a specialist compared to 20 days for kids with private insurance."

Medical News: Union Nurses Call for Single-Payer System - in Nursing, Nursing from MedPage Today

Medical News: Union Nurses Call for Single-Payer System - in Nursing, Nursing from MedPage Today: Article and video at this link.

Medica plan may be glimpse of future | StarTribune.com

Medica plan may be glimpse of future | StarTribune.com:
Excerpt:

"John Naylor, Medica's vice president of sales and account services, said the new plan moves from a "cost shift" to a "cost share" model.

"Employers are making decisions behind the scenes about the level of benefit and the kind of contribution they'll make," he said. "Maybe they'll lower their benefits or find ways to lower cost, or you as an employee take on more. 'My Plan' offers a way for employers to control costs, but to give me as an employee more flexibility and choice."

Simeon Schindelman, Medica's senior vice president of commercial markets, said the company spent about a year working on the program, based on feedback from some of its 200 brokers as well as businesses."

I wonder about getting feedback from "brokers as well as businesses" and not from providers and patients/employees. This seems like just a new twist on the high deductible models.

Plain Talk: Ryan’s plan plays into hands of insurers

Plain Talk: Ryan’s plan plays into hands of insurers: "There’s a much better way. Don’t destroy Medicare as Ryan would have the U.S. do, but extend it to everyone from the day they’re born to the day they die. For the inflated prices we’re now spending for health care, we could cover every American and still save money — more money than the Ryan “reform” could ever do."