Our View: MaineCare cuts may bring on federal fines
Posted: December 27Updated: Today at 6:57 PM
The governor is confident that Maine can get waivers, but the Legislature should ask for proof.
Gov. LePage says he is "absolutely confident" that he can get the federal waivers needed to make his proposed human services cuts legal under federal law, but we hope the Legislature requires more than the governor's say-so
The Wyden-Ryan Plan: Déjà Vu All Over Again
By UWE E. REINHARDTUwe E. Reinhardt is an economics professor at Princeton. He has some financial interests in the health care field.
After wrestling for decades and in futility with the triple problems facing health care in the United States – unsustainable spending growth, lack of timely access to health care for millions of uninsured Americans and highly varied quality of care – any new proposal to address these problems is likely to be a recycled old idea.
The widely discussed new proposal from Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, and Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, to restructure the federal Medicare program for the elderly is no exception.
DECEMBER 26, 2011
Can Occupy and Labor Unite on Health Care?
The Bi-Partisan Attack on Medicare
Politicians are attacking Medicare and Medicaid on all sides–Democrats and Republicans alike. Obama’s national health care bill will slash hundreds of billions from Medicare over the next decade, an act supported by so-called “progressive” Democrats. Soon after this “victory” Obama created the Super Committee to balance the budget, which included automatic “triggers”– if no decision was reached – that are now slated to cut $600 billion more from Medicare.
On a state-by-state basis, Medicaid – a program that provides health care to the poor – is being cut in virtually every state, where they are using their manufactured budget crises as an excuse. This under-funding of Medicaid has created a lack of doctors for patients, according to USA today: ”With a shortage of doctors…[Medicaid] patients have little choice but to use hospital emergency rooms for more routine care.” (July 5th, 2011).
The High Cost of Failing Artificial Hips
By BARRY MEIER
The most widespread medical implant failure in decades — involving thousands of all-metal artificial hips that need to be replaced prematurely — has entered the money phase.
Medical and legal experts estimate the hip failures may cost taxpayers, insurers, employers and others billions of dollars in coming years, contributing to the soaring cost of health care. The financial fallout is expected to be unusually large and complex because the episode involves a class of products, not a single device or just one company.
BUSINESSHighmark looks to expand hospital and physician ownershipThe Pittsburgh-based insurer, in a dispute with the area's largest hospital system, wants to occupy what it calls the "provider space."By EMILY BERRY, amednews staff. Posted Dec. 26, 2011. |
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