Medicare Cuts - Real

[Guest]

I visited the Cardiologist today and here is a letter all should read and be upset about: There are probably about 8-10 cardiologists in this practise so it is not a small problem to The Villages Community..!!
"The 2010 Medicare Fee Schedule mandates that on January 1, 2010 severe cuts in cardiology physician fees will begin. This cut is being phased in over four years because the government used flawed data to make their calculations. In addition, there are Congressionally mandated cuts of more than 20 percent in all Medicare physicians fees, regardless of specialty. The results of these combined government policies are that our practice is facing cuts ranging from 25 to almost 50 percent.
Such drastic reductions in fees are going to seriously hamper our ability to continue to see you, our patients as we do today. We feel the need to warn you that these reductions will translate into decreased services for patients, cuts in staff, probable transfer of care to the hospitals resulting in delay in needed care. Please understand the hospitals cannot handle the mass influx of patients who will be needing services thar they once received in our office. Making sure you have the best quality of care will always be our number one priority. Caring for people is why we all dedicated our lives to heart patients. In the very near future it is going to be a difficult climate
to operate in our current manner.
We have built our office facility and trained our staff to best take care of each patient. We believe that the care you receive is critical to your quality of life. With these cuts we may not be able to provide some of the services that patients have come to depend on and in the long run; if the current policies are not changed we may be forced to close our doors.
As a cardiovascular patient we urge you to contact our lawmakers about the impact of our changing practice on you. The law is clear-we face cuts unless Congress acts. In advance we thank you for understnding our changing environment."
There are other facts to follow..:boxing2:

[Guest]

In addition to the previous post this should also be taken as the pill that Congress wants you to swollow:
"The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Serivces (CMS) has proposed drastic cuts in the reimbursement for out-patient imaging procedures including nuclear stress tests. CAT/MRI scans and cardiac catheterizations procedures. These cuts will financially paralyze the office of your cardiologists and many of them will be forced not only refuse Medicare patients, but also leave the state of Florida altogether.
Your access to healthcare, especially cardiovascular care will be severely limited and this rationing of health care forced upon you by the Medicare cuts will leave you with no other alterative but to go to the hospital for any and all of your health care. This will lead to:
-Increased out of pocket expense for you, since your co pay for procedures will be more than 5 times compared ot office procedures.
-Increased wait times for procedures to be scheduuled.
-Increased length of stay in the hospital which will again increase the hospital expenses and your co pay.
There are only about 850 cardiologists currently practicing full time in Florida. If Medicare cuts come into effect, many of these skilled and knowledgeable cardiologists will leave the state altogether and the access to specialists will be limited and the quality of your health care will be severely compromised.
These Medicare cuts are going to completely criple your cardivascular services as well as other specialties and severely affect your healthcare.
We need you to stand with us to prevent these dreatic measures...."
If not now...when? If not us...Who..? Contact your repreentative and stop this erosion of skilled medical treatments.
The consequences sound a lot like the UK..!!:a040:

[Guest]

And I took the time to read this bill from end to end. Now I know it has morphed some since then, but this is just the beginning. They are cutting the services to seniors to provide for those without insurance. 400 billion from Medicare,(eliminate the fraud and waste) to pay for illegals and other who can't afford insurance. But if there is 400 billion in fraud with this program, why wouldn't there be 800 billion with this new bill? They have admitted that government programs are a failure and yet want us to accept more. And we the sheep, accept it.

[Guest]

This is a serious subject, but no one knows for sure what the Health Care bill will look like when it's finished. This is another wave of political negativism (remember the August Town Hall Meetings) meant to stagnate Healthcare reform and IT BELONGS IN THE POLITICAL TALK FORUM. Please don't be a part of the political hack efforts.

[Guest]

This is a serious subject, but no one knows for sure what the Health Care bill will look like when it's finished. This is another wave of political negativism (remember the August Town Hall Meetings) meant to stagnate Healthcare reform and IT BELONGS IN THE POLITICAL TALK FORUM. Please don't be a part of the political hack efforts.

Thank you, X!!

[Guest]

Just vote in an admendment making everyone in political office no exceptions having to use only medicare!

[Guest]

There is nothing political about having your benefits halved. Some of you just do not understand, or cannot comprehend what is going to happen to us Senior Citizens under this proposed Health Care bill that Congress and Obama want passed so hurriedly, and I feel sorry for those of you who supported blindly these people into office. Canada, the U.K. and all other countries that use this social form of medicine have been crying for years. It's okay if you are young and not facing the health perils that we seniors face now. This is the result of a system gone wild, and we are the ones who are going to suffer dreadfully I fear.

[Guest]

There is nothing political about having your benefits halved. Some of you just do not understand, or cannot comprehend what is going to happen to us Senior Citizens under this proposed Health Care bill that Congress and Obama want passed so hurriedly, and I feel sorry for those of you who supported blindly these people into office. Canada, the U.K. and all other countries that use this social form of medicine have been crying for years. It's okay if you are young and not facing the health perils that we seniors face now. This is the result of a system gone wild, and we are the ones who are going to suffer dreadfully I fear.

I would love for you to teach us uneducated souls just what it is that we don't understand or what it is that we can't comprehend - IN THE POLITICAL FORUM. I just don't know how I got so stupid. Maybe you can help me with that too. Me thinks that you may be caught up in the "talking points" of the day or believing all of the garbage that we get through our email or on faux (FOX) news network.

[Guest]

Please look at the thread category of "Medical" where it was posted and where I believe it belongs. It is a subject that is critical to every Senior citizen regarding their medical protection and it should not be hidden by some discussion regarding the differences between democrats and republicans.
I am sorry some feel it necessary to pretend being "intellectual" as opposed to concentrating on serious matters. Unfortunately, at time these attempts
at being "cute" actually confuse what would otherwise be considered very serious impacts on the quality of life.

[Guest]

Please look at the thread category of "Medical" where it was posted and where I believe it belongs. It is a subject that is critical to every Senior citizen regarding their medical protection and it should not be hidden by some discussion regarding the differences between democrats and republicans.
I am sorry some feel it necessary to pretend being "intellectual" as opposed to concentrating on serious matters. Unfortunately, at time these attempts
at being "cute" actually confuse what would otherwise be considered very serious impacts on the quality of life.

I thank you for pointing out yet another of my short-comings. Even my wife will tell you I'm not cute. Can't you see that YOU are being USED by yet another Special Interest Group and they've bought and sold many of the members of congress on both sides of the healthcare reform issue. They are trying to influence the rest through you. I still think it belongs in Political.

[Guest]

See, in short order, unfortunately this has turned personal AND political.

As Xavier initially indicated, this belongs in Political. It's much more than a Medical discussion.

[Guest]

I think it is a cross over post. Many members do not register for the political forum and would miss the cuts in Medicare that this post is talking about.

It only gets political when posters start slamming each other about the posts.

[Guest]

I visited the Cardiologist today and here is a letter all should read and be upset about: :boxing2:

Was this letter provided by your cardiologist? Can you tell us which office provided it?

[Guest]

Unfortunately, there is NO cure for ignorance.

[Guest]

Hey, it was an attempt to make sure all are informed regarding medicare and risks associated with the program. . If anyone elects to opt out so be it. I just don't think it is "right" to trivialize what may be a serious impact on medical care for senior citizens. It was not and is not political. It only becomes political when someone makes an attempt to "politicalize" everything in order to be argumentative or for whatever other motivation they may have. When the process is attacked as opposed to the substance it is time to just walk away and let the facts speak for themselves. :read:

[Guest]

Well I am not in Florida yet, I am in Indiana ,and no one can quite figure out all of the ramifications of what will be. I am a Registered Nurse and work for a group of 20+ Cardiologists. This all feels like The Perfect Storm to me.

Medicare does not cover the costs that are accrued to a doctors office;so each office rely's on those patients not on Medicare and their insurance coverage to make up the difference. I wonder how Florida does that with such a large Medicare population. I also worked in an OB/GYN office for 10 years and understand this to be true across the board in doctor's practices.

I know many will think-now it will be easy to have the doctor cut his fees but he did go to school all of those years, give up his family life, work weekends and nights, pay for law suits and malpractice insurance and work holidays just to cut his fees...believe me it won't be the doctor that reduces his fee. I'm not sure it should be either. We want to continue to reward those with such devotion and sacrifice to their profession so they will want to continue to practice great medicine. However me and 25 other RN's have already been downsized from a large OB/GYN office. We were too expensive. They did away with my department in Test Results. It will be services and personnel that will be cut.

I'm not saying that we should have kept things the same or that we should have changed them I am just reporting what I know to be true so others can decide what they think.

In my case, I am going to expect the worse but hope for the best. We have been a very blessed people and this is a great nation.

IMHO

[Guest]

... it is time to just walk away and let the facts speak for themselves. :read:

My point exactly - there are no facts yet. Believe me, the sky is not falling. Creative people adapt and amend and change. There is no point in getting all lathered up about something that hasn't happened yet.

When someone tells me to read something and then tells me how I should react to it then I automatically feel that I'm being sold a bill of goods because they don't want me to form my own opinion.

[Guest]

My point exactly - there are no facts yet. Believe me, the sky is not falling. Creative people adapt and amend and change. There is no point in getting all lathered up about something that hasn't happened yet.

When someone tells me to read something and then tells me how I should react to it then I automatically feel that I'm being sold a bill of goods because they don't want me to form my own opinion.

There seems to be a lot of knee-jerk reaction to this on both sides. Xavier, you are assuming that this is related to the health care bill before Congress now and hence claim the facts are not known and we should wait until they are. However, in this case the facts are known since these cuts are taking place right now and hence do not include any additional future cuts that the House and Senate may come up with:
RULE HIGHLIGHTS:

CMS’ final 2010 Physician Fee Schedule includes cuts to nearly all services performed by cardiologists, ranging from 10 to more than 40 percent over four years beginning Jan. 1, 2010. These cuts are separate from current health reform efforts and do not include the 21.2 percent Medicare physician payment cut due to the sustainable growth rate (SGR).

The impact on individual cardiovascular practices is causing many practices to take drastic measures according to a recent survey:

60 percent of private practice cardiology plans staff layoffs
46 percent of private practice cardiology plans to eliminate service lines
17 percent of private practice cardiology will stop accepting Medicare
39 percent are considering integration into a hospital system
http://www.acc.org/advocacy/advoc_issues/finalrulecmscut.cfm

[Guest]

There seems to be a lot of knee-jerk reaction to this on both sides. Xavier, you are assuming that this is related to the health care bill before Congress now and hence claim the facts are not known and we should wait until they are. However, in this case the facts are known since these cuts are taking place right now and hence do not include any additional future cuts that the House and Senate may come up with:

Thank you. That brings some light to the discussion that hadn't previously been provided. You are also correct in stating that we, both sides of the discussion, have been knee jerk in our reaction. I plead Guilty. I have little reason to doubt the Advocacy Group that provided the information, however they are representing a "special interest" group and one should take that into account before assuming that they haven't embellished on the facts and their consequences. Their little ticker-tape at the top of their website includes some questionable sources for their news flashes. "The Hill" jumped right out at me. Thanks again for taking the time.

[Guest]

I visited the Cardiologist today and here is a letter all should read and be upset about: There are probably about 8-10 cardiologists in this practise so it is not a small problem to The Villages Community..!!
"The 2010 Medicare Fee Schedule mandates that on January 1, 2010 severe cuts in cardiology physician fees will begin. This cut is being phased in over four years because the government used flawed data to make their calculations. In addition, there are Congressionally mandated cuts of more than 20 percent in all Medicare physicians fees, regardless of specialty. The results of these combined government policies are that our practice is facing cuts ranging from 25 to almost 50 percent.
Such drastic reductions in fees are going to seriously hamper our ability to continue to see you, our patients as we do today. We feel the need to warn you that these reductions will translate into decreased services for patients, cuts in staff, probable transfer of care to the hospitals resulting in delay in needed care. Please understand the hospitals cannot handle the mass influx of patients who will be needing services thar they once received in our office. Making sure you have the best quality of care will always be our number one priority. Caring for people is why we all dedicated our lives to heart patients. In the very near future it is going to be a difficult climate
to operate in our current manner.
We have built our office facility and trained our staff to best take care of each patient. We believe that the care you receive is critical to your quality of life. With these cuts we may not be able to provide some of the services that patients have come to depend on and in the long run; if the current policies are not changed we may be forced to close our doors.
As a cardiovascular patient we urge you to contact our lawmakers about the impact of our changing practice on you. The law is clear-we face cuts unless Congress acts. In advance we thank you for understnding our changing environment."
There are other facts to follow..:boxing2:



Thanks for posting. This is fact and this is happening many places other than TV. Brother-in-law is Doctor and has stated the same as above, his concern also is losing the ability (finanically) being able to service seniors.

[Guest]

I agree belongs in POLITICAL FORUM!

[Guest]

The posters themselves turn it into a political post. Leave it in medical and if a peep posts something that is political in it, then remove that post. Many people (like ZCaveman stated) would not see this important piece of info if it were moved to political.

[Guest]

It's sad that a discussion of senior's medical benefits which they paid a premium for all their working lives now becomes a political argument. That's what we get when we allow the government to take over these important parts of our welfare.
Not only has reduced payments for physician's services already become law, but in June 2010 the insurance companies are, by law, required to increase the deductibles with supplemental medicare policies. You know, the ones where you choose plan A,B,C,etc.
This is the law now and not dependent on what happens with the bills before Congress today.
I do not know when these new regulations were passed or why we seniors were not better informed about them previously. I would have thought an advocacy group like the AARP would have notified its members that this was happening.

[Guest]

I agree belongs in POLITICAL FORUM!

Yes this thread belongs in the Political forum because that is all this medical reform bill is all about. It is all about Obama's political ideology.

[Guest]

My goodness. Doesn't anyone understand this is not apart of that bill. It is going to deprive medical help to those that most need it.
Let me state from the start that I am personally fully covered and would not be impacted by any of these changes but I do have sympathy and feelings for those that will be hurt.
Let's be logical. Fact: More members read Medical than Political. Fact: This is a medical issue and not a "political issue", Fact: Some therefore want the data to be less transparent to the members, Fact: The only way the discussion is diverted to Political is if(a) someone either wants less member to know of the potential problem (b) they are uneducated as to the what the status of the issue is or (c) just like to stir up trouble regardless if it hurts senior citizens. KNOWLEDGE IS WISDOM..
The terrible problem is that when people are succesful in making things less transparent they deprive the citizens of information and "bad things happen". WHY DO SOME FEAR THE SUNSHINE COMING IN??? WHAT MOTIVATES SOME TO RUN OR WORK TO HIDE POTENTIAL PROBLEMS? I WISH I KNEW WHY BUT I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE WHAT DRIVES PEOPLE IN THIS DIRECTION.

[Guest]

...............WHAT MOTIVATES SOME TO RUN OR WORK TO HIDE POTENTIAL PROBLEMS? I WISH I KNEW WHY BUT I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE WHAT DRIVES PEOPLE IN THIS DIRECTION. [/B]

Shouting like this is the "norm" in political!

[Guest]

I visited the Cardiologist today and here is a letter all should read and be upset about

I saw this question posted previously, and also wondered:

Was this letter provided by your cardiologist? If so, which office? If not, what is the source of the letter? Thanks much.

[Guest]

Please look at the thread category of "Medical" where it was posted and where I believe it belongs. It is a subject that is critical to every Senior citizen regarding their medical protection and it should not be hidden by some discussion regarding the differences between democrats and republicans.
I am sorry some feel it necessary to pretend being "intellectual" as opposed to concentrating on serious matters. Unfortunately, at time these attempts
at being "cute" actually confuse what would otherwise be considered very serious impacts on the quality of life.

:agree:

[Guest]

BARRY GOLDWATER, 1964


LET ME REMIND YOU THAT EXTREMISM
IN THE DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE.

LET ME REMIND YOU ALSO THAT
MODERATION IN THE PURSUIT OF
JUSTICE IS NO VIRTUE.

If you feel that just sitting around and waiting to be shown what is and what is not, I feel sorry for you. We are educated people, not sheep. Look at our founding fathers and ask yourselves what action they took in the midst of possible catastrophe, was it controversial, did they take a stand, or were they led to slaughter? If we do not stand up for ourselves then we are doomed. And you can put this in any of the forums for discussion.

[Guest]

OK so exactly what are we supposed to do...gn

[Guest]

BARRY GOLDWATER, 1964


LET ME REMIND YOU THAT EXTREMISM
IN THE DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE.

LET ME REMIND YOU ALSO THAT
MODERATION IN THE PURSUIT OF
JUSTICE IS NO VIRTUE.

If you feel that just sitting around and waiting to be shown what is and what is not, I feel sorry for you. We are educated people, not sheep. Look at our founding fathers and ask yourselves what action they took in the midst of possible catastrophe, was it controversial, did they take a stand, or were they led to slaughter? If we do not stand up for ourselves then we are doomed. And you can put this in any of the forums for discussion.

Huh? :shrug:

[Guest]

I will not mention any party or any political statement, only the impact of this bill regardless of who votes for or against it. So this belongs in medical, not political.

gn asked, OK what should we do? I would suggest you start by reading the bill as it currently stands, and if you do not agree with it, e-mail or call your congressman and senator and let them know you will not support them if they support this bill. Read both house and senate versions as the final will be some compromise of both. Both bills have horrible consequences for seniors. They make the assumption that Medicare can be cut because of fraud and waste. It probably does have fraud and waste. But when has any government run program not been loaded with fraud and waste. Why should we believe they will fix that? They will make the cuts, not fix any of the problems and your benefits will decline. That will happen

Someone else suggested we wait until the bill is past as the current version will change. Yes it will change, but there is so much bad with it, that a lot will end up in the final version. It also will be way to late at that point. Do something now. Even if you support it, that is fine. Let your elected officials know how you feel about it.

Someone else said they are not impacted as they have great coverage now. They have not read these bills. You will be forced to buy certain coverage you may not have today. If you don't, you will be forced to pay anyway. You will be taxed more to pay for this. And at some point you will be forced to take the public option. Please read the current versions as you will be significantly impacted.

I have read it, I do not support it, and I e-mail my senators and congressman every day and tell them that.

Get involved, do something, or your part of the problem, not the solution. Regardless of party, they are our elected representatives and they deserve to know weather you support this or not.

[Guest]

Get involved. Email your Representatives and Senators with your feelings regarding them compromise bill that has to come before the President. If you feel the bill has no merit for us Seniors then voice that opinion. Get involved with local action groups working for 1. Replacement of current politicians whose only goal is to look for reelection. 2. Push as hard as you can for term limitations. Our only hope is to become involved with our government, inaction has caused just what we are experiencing now, and within not too long a period this country faces the global positioning of most third world nations. Remember this: until Borders, Language, and Culture issues are addressed our future looks quite dim.

[Guest]

I will not mention any party or any political statement, only the impact of this bill regardless of who votes for or against it. So this belongs in medical, not political.

gn asked, OK what should we do? I would suggest you start by reading the bill as it currently stands, and if you do not agree with it, e-mail or call your congressman and senator and let them know you will not support them if they support this bill. Read both house and senate versions as the final will be some compromise of both. Both bills have horrible consequences for seniors. They make the assumption that Medicare can be cut because of fraud and waste. It probably does have fraud and waste. But when has any government run program not been loaded with fraud and waste. Why should we believe they will fix that? They will make the cuts, not fix any of the problems and your benefits will decline. That will happen

Someone else suggested we wait until the bill is past as the current version will change. Yes it will change, but there is so much bad with it, that a lot will end up in the final version. It also will be way to late at that point. Do something now. Even if you support it, that is fine. Let your elected officials know how you feel about it.

Someone else said they are not impacted as they have great coverage now. They have not read these bills. You will be forced to buy certain coverage you may not have today. If you don't, you will be forced to pay anyway. You will be taxed more to pay for this. And at some point you will be forced to take the public option. Please read the current versions as you will be significantly impacted.

I have read it, I do not support it, and I e-mail my senators and congressman every day and tell them that.

Get involved, do something, or your part of the problem, not the solution. Regardless of party, they are our elected representatives and they deserve to know weather you support this or not.

I think I'll support Healthcare Reform for the millions that don't have coverage and so that my children and my grandchildren will have just a few of the advantages that we did. It is a much different world that they will face. I have and will continue to write, not only my representatives, but my old representatives as well and those who oppose Healthcare Reform. You have truly motivated me to get more involved. If I have to pay more then that's the least I can do. Thank you, thank you very much..:thumbup:

[Guest]

I think I'll support Healthcare Reform for the millions that don't have coverage and so that my children and my grandchildren will have just a few of the advantages that we did. It is a much different world that they will face. I have and will continue to write, not only my representatives, but my old representatives as well and those who oppose Healthcare Reform. You have truly motivated me to get more involved. If I have to pay more then that's the least I can do. Thank you, thank you very much..:thumbup:

We all support health reform. Only a complete idiot would not.

The Obama care is not health reform. It takes away money and/or healthcare from one group and gives it to another. It is a Tax and control bill.

Reform would allow insurance companies to compete across State lines And provide tort reform. It would leave the kind of care given as a decision made by the patient and the Doctor.

Please see this bill for what it is. If you think it is not a tax bill how can you explain the enormous involvement of the IRS.

[Guest]

We all support health reform. Only a complete idiot would not.

The Obama care is not health reform. It takes away money and/or healthcare from one group and gives it to another. It is a Tax and control bill.

Reform would allow insurance companies to compete across State lines And provide tort reform. It would leave the kind of care given as a decision made by the patient and the Doctor.

Please see this bill for what it is. If you think it is not a tax bill how can you explain the enormous involvement of the IRS.

Can I assume you didn't like my answer? Your response sounds just a little political to me

Xavier

[Guest]

Thanks Xavier. And I encourage you to get involved. However please read the pending bills so you write with knowledge, not media hype from either side. I also support health care reform. Better coverage, low cost alternatives, insurance reform, more competition, tort reform, free clinics, and many other ways to bring better care to more people. The bill pending before our elected Representatives does none of the above.

[Guest]

Thanks Xavier. And I encourage you to get involved. However please read the pending bills so you write with knowledge, not media hype from either side. I also support health care reform. Better coverage, low cost alternatives, insurance reform, more competition, tort reform, free clinics, and many other ways to bring better care to more people. The bill pending before our elected Representatives does none of the above.

Long life, if nothing else, has shown us that if you are looking for "perfect" it won't be coming out of Washington DC. What is in both bills that are being considered is definitely not perfect, but you've got to start somewhere. We can't wait another 40 years. The time is now or it may never happen. If both sides, and I AM blaming both sides, could have been at least been civil to each other they might have come up with a far better base from which to start.

[Guest]

Xavier , I support your view. Following breast cancer, we lost our insurance. That should not happen in this country. We are fine now thanks to Medicare. Bill may not be perfect, but it will be an improvement. I HAVE been in contact with those in the House and Senate.

[Guest]

12ridehd..I could not agree more with you. There are so many ways to bring better health care to the public but it takes being an informed and where appropriate becoming involved in the process. Unfortunately there are those who speak without knowledge or want to use it as a political issue rather than what it is..a medical concern regardless of political party or leaning.
I remember an old story that essentially said "let George do it" as everybody asserted they were too busy so the "factious George" could do it. Of course because so many acted this way "George was too busy" and it did not get done. Keep up the good:agree: advice..

[Guest]

Xavier , I support your view. Following breast cancer, we lost our insurance. That should not happen in this country. We are fine now thanks to Medicare. Bill may not be perfect, but it will be an improvement. I HAVE been in contact with those in the House and Senate.

Thanks. Love your Boston too! Great dogs.

[Guest]

Long life, if nothing else, has shown us that if you are looking for "perfect" it won't be coming out of Washington DC. What is in both bills that are being considered is definitely not perfect, but you've got to start somewhere. We can't wait another 40 years. The time is now or it may never happen. If both sides, and I AM blaming both sides, could have been at least been civil to each other they might have come up with a far better base from which to start.

If we pass this bill we will never again have an opportunity to reform health care.

[Guest]

Again what I meant to enforce is that Cardiology has been hit the hardest of all specialty groups. Medicare has cut reimbursement across the board 40%. I reviewed this today with our head Cardiologist.

The problem is that there is no fat to cut in Cardiology. We don't order tests that are not needed or do procedures that are not needed. Cardiolgists are not Cardiovascular surgeons and so they do not get paid the big bucks of a surgeon. They do Cardiac Catheterizations and stents and some peripheral cardiovascular and or renal stents. All of which are only done if needed.

What my group has done is join a large umbrella goup that is a part of our local hospital. This umbrella group then takes up the slack from other groups to keep them floating. The end result was that no one lost jobs or had to cut services.

This has nothing to do with the upcoming changes in Health Reform. It is in effect today- started Jan 1.

My point is to shed light on the original post regarding the letter they received from their Cardiologist.

Hope this has cleared up some of the misunderstanding. This is why I don't see this as political.

Thanks

[Guest]

Again what I meant to enforce is that Cardiology has been hit the hardest of all specialty groups. Medicare has cut reimbursement across the board 40%. I reviewed this today with our head Cardiologist.

The problem is that there is no fat to cut in Cardiology. We don't order tests that are not needed or do procedures that are not needed. Cardiolgists are not Cardiovascular surgeons and so they do not get paid the big bucks of a surgeon. They do Cardiac Catheterizations and stents and some peripheral cardiovascular and or renal stents. All of which are only done if needed.

What my group has done is join a large umbrella goup that is a part of our local hospital. This umbrella group then takes up the slack from other groups to keep them floating. The end result was that no one lost jobs or had to cut services.

This has nothing to do with the upcoming changes in Health Reform. It is in effect today- started Jan 1.

My point is to shed light on the original post regarding the letter they received from their Cardiologist.

Hope this has cleared up some of the misunderstanding. This is why I don't see this as political.

Thanks

Thank you for sharing this clarification. Your group has been very creative in dealing with the changes in Medicare. Their initiative is commendable.

[Guest]

Thank you for clarifying.

[Guest]

This has nothing to do with the upcoming changes in Health Reform. It is in effect today- started Jan 1.

My point is to shed light on the original post regarding the letter they received from their Cardiologist.

Thanks ssmith. However, I don't think the question was ever answered about whether the letter came from the cardiologist. So while your post was welcome and informative, so far, light has not been shed on the source of the letter that kicked off this discussion. :(

[Guest]

Again what I meant to enforce is that Cardiology has been hit the hardest of all specialty groups. Medicare has cut reimbursement across the board 40%. I reviewed this today with our head Cardiologist.

The problem is that there is no fat to cut in Cardiology. We don't order tests that are not needed or do procedures that are not needed. Cardiolgists are not Cardiovascular surgeons and so they do not get paid the big bucks of a surgeon. They do Cardiac Catheterizations and stents and some peripheral cardiovascular and or renal stents. All of which are only done if needed.

What my group has done is join a large umbrella goup that is a part of our local hospital. This umbrella group then takes up the slack from other groups to keep them floating. The end result was that no one lost jobs or had to cut services.

This has nothing to do with the upcoming changes in Health Reform. It is in effect today- started Jan 1.

My point is to shed light on the original post regarding the letter they received from their Cardiologist.

Hope this has cleared up some of the misunderstanding. This is why I don't see this as political.

ThanksTOTV"ers... I want to reinforce a very important part of this post: "THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH UPCOMING CHANGES IN HEALTH REFORM". This issus is and has been an ANNUAL issue Congress faced at the end of every year for many years. Rather than fix the problem correctly, every year around Dec 15th, at the 11th hour, Congress did a patch job to get through another year so physician providers did not face a huge reimbursement cut. Congress realized (correctly) that in most parts of the country, physicians would simply STOP participating as medicare providers if their reimbursement for services was severely cut. It appears that what happened this year was that Congress was so wrapped up in other issues that the "patch job" did not occur. Do NOT confuse this thread with Health Care Reform. Medicare reimbursement will deteriorate to what Medicaid is in most states. As such, most private practitioners offices may soon be saying to pts who call for services: "I'm sorry, we do not accept Medicare ins in this office."
It doesn't take a PhD in accounting or economics to recognize that if your expenses (rent, malpractice ins, utilities, payroll) stay the same or GO UP and your collections go DOWN 40% you wont stay in business very long.

[Guest]

RSHOFFER..Thanks for adding to the background on the problem. I have intentionally not identified the "source" as that is not important. What is important is the accuracy. It is up to the nay sayers to read the facts and then "factually" challenge it if is wrong. Identifying source's only allows for one more avenue for the nay sayers to attack the messenger without knowledge. Hopefully they will do their homework, be unbais in their analysis and add to the discussion with intellegence and not political leaning nor
generally negative attitudes. Again, thanks for constructive input.:agree:

[Guest]

RSHOFFER..Thanks for adding to the background on the problem. I have intentionally not identified the "source" as that is not important. What is important is the accuracy. It is up to the naysayers to read the facts and then "factually" challenge it if is wrong. Identifying source's only allows for one more avenue for the naysayers to attack the messenger without knowledge. Hopefully they will do their homework, be unbiased in their analysis and add to the discussion with intelligence and not political leaning nor
generally negative attitudes. Again, thanks for constructive input.:agree:

I think that if I were you I wouldn't bother with us; the biased, uneducated, factually challenged, unknowledgeable, non-homework doing, unintelligent, political leaning, negative, naysaying masses. We aren't worth your time. It is very evident that you are so much better prepared to deal with this problem on your own. I think we all look up with you with deepest respect.:D

[Guest]

The only people being poitical here are the ones complaining about the politization of the subject.
Not only has the reduction in doctor reimbursment already law, but we also will be facing higher deductibles with our supplemental insurance.
Insurance companies are now legally required to increase their deductables effective July 2010.

[Guest]

Now Xavier I understand you. Attack, attack without fact. Go back and read your REH quote and what you said below it. Those two sentences are so far removed from each other that they make no sense at all.

I still strongly suggest you read the pending bills. Based on all your posts in this thread, I do not believe you have done that. Until you do, your making statements and attacking issues that make me laugh at your biased one sided view. This is not a political issue, but a health care issue with a bill that is targeted against seniors. I assume you are one and as with all seniors you have to read this thing to understand how you will be impacted. It is not good for us.

[Guest]

:shrug:Xavier..you say:
"I think that if I were you I wouldn't bother with us; the biased, uneducated, factually challenged, unknowledgeable, non-homework doing, unintelligent, political leaning, negative, naysaying masses. We aren't worth your time. It is very evident that you are so much better prepared to deal with this problem on your own. I think we all look up with you with deepest respect."

What the heck is wrong here. I see nothing in your response that addresses the issue?? As they say, 'If you don't like the message yell at the messenger, if you don't know the facts, just yell'..It appears you have been successful in doing both. Please stay on point and address the facts, avoid emotions. I am just part of the masses trying to understand what is going on?

[Guest]

:shrug:Xavier..you say:
"I think that if I were you I wouldn't bother with us; the biased, uneducated, factually challenged, unknowledgeable, non-homework doing, unintelligent, political leaning, negative, naysaying masses. We aren't worth your time. It is very evident that you are so much better prepared to deal with this problem on your own. I think we all look up with you with deepest respect."

What the heck is wrong here. I see nothing in your response that addresses the issue?? As they say, 'If you don't like the message yell at the messenger, if you don't know the facts, just yell'..It appears you have been successful in doing both. Please stay on point and address the facts, avoid emotions. I am just part of the masses trying to understand what is going on?

:wave:All of those words are from your posts. I just read them back to you.:wave:

[Guest]

:wave:All of those words are from your posts. I just read them back to you.:wave:

If you don't agree , like or care for for REH7380 posts, you can put him on your ignore list since you seem to already have all the answers and don't care to hear someone else's opinion that doesn't copy yours.

[Guest]

It only gets political when posters start slamming each other about the posts.

We're there.

[Guest]

We're there.I see the administrators have moved this post on reimbursement problems in Medicare (a HEALTH INSURANCE topic) to The Political Forum. The impetus for this after 53 other posts in the same thread appears to be, not that the topic changed, but that some of the posts became passionate, heated, challenging or even nasty.
Perhaps this forum should be renamed: The Let's Get Nasty and Hostile Forum.

[Guest]

or cost less in the future is either non lucid, naieve, unconscious, been out in the cold too long or simply has not a clue about how those who represent us do no not, nor have they ever fixed ANYTHING that costs too much.

There will be less service....the government is going to be paying less!!!!

Premiums will go up...the government is taxing the insurers who will pass it on to you.

Call it what you will, there will be "rationing" of services, tests....etc.

If it takes months to get an appointment now just wait till the new 30,000,000 to be covered get in line.

AND anybody who thinks there will be an actual cost offset by reducing medicare by $500,000,000,000 (that is with a 'b') is dead between the ears or otherwise. As was simply stated in a previous post in this thread....reduced revenues...same or most likely increasing expenses = somethings gotta give and it will be either the services go or the doctors who provide them go to a non government run business.

Your annual costs for the same coverage you have today will go up dramatically as you take on supplemental insurance to maintain the health care quality and quantity you have been used to getting all these years.

For those who speculate about the impact who are not 65 or older, they have no real knowledge of the scenario where there is no more personal revenue coming in (for most) after retirement....medical cost increases or take aways = reduced quality of life......the math is easy for those with their eyes and ears open.

btk

[Guest]

Are we supposed to wait until there is a bill passed to question its merits, if any? Are we supposed to wait until the Doctor tells us he will no longer accept Medicare or insurance for payment and you will have to come up with the $$$ for treatments and diagnosis up front?
How many seniors will be able to afford to fund the up front payment? How many seniors will forego their annual well check-up to save the extra $$$? How many will forego necessary surgery, treatments, and medications which would have given them a better quality of life to save the $$$ that our congress so willing hands out to pork projects and foreign governments who don't even offer so much as a thank you?
Once this legislation is passed, can it ever be reversed? Those who are pushing for a quick passage of these unread and unknown bills to be paid for by the hard working American people can well afford the above scenario. Our seniors cannot. Those who are try to foister Obamacare down our throats have little regard for anyone who is not part of their political base. Simply, they are NOT listening to the majority of the American electorate.
The time to make your voice heard is now and not take a wait and see position. This is not a political issue but an alert as to what people ought be thinking and considering, at least in part.
To bury this issue in the political forum is a disservice to us all. Consider,where will the money come from? What sacrafices will we be willing to make and at what expense? Who, will in fact, be the beneficiaries of this legislation?
Is all of this a diversionary tactic i.e., the Stimulus and bailout packages, wherein monies are being diverted to other programs and agencies which the powers that be are spending, nay, giving, to their cronies for useless projects under the guise of JOBS (Just OBama's Sidekicks)? Watch not what they say but where the money goes.

[Guest]

Politics is censored on "Talk of the Villages" by limiting its exposure to all. Religion and Sex are not.

Where is the logic in that.

[Guest]

I understand the TOTV moving it to Political. I do not agree that the subject is BUT we have allowed some to hijack the issue, make it political and thereby destroying the rational discussions it deserves. I would have rather seen the ones that sent in responses that were political moved and the basic quesiton to remain but I am sure that would be difficult for TOTV's Administrators :(to do.
It is sad that open discussions regard health and medicare is throttled by a few malcontents but I guess that is a way of life today..

[Guest]

I understand the TOTV moving it to Political. I do not agree that the subject is BUT we have allowed some to hijack the issue, make it political and thereby destroying the rational discussions it deserves. I would have rather seen the ones that sent in responses that were political moved and the basic quesiton to remain but I am sure that would be difficult for TOTV's Administrators :(to do.
It is sad that open discussions regard health and medicare is throttled by a few malcontents but I guess that is a way of life today..

REH, first I want to thank you for bringing this issue up again. It deserves to be clearly aired. Some posters have questioned your integrity, requesting/demanding that a copy of the letter be produced. Others have chosen to attack you feeling, apparently, that any questioning of the Medicare system is an attack on Barack Obama and the current healthcare reform legislation.

Neither of these is correct. In support of the information you provided about your cardiologist, I can say from immediate personal experience that The Mayo Clinic no longer accepts Medicare. Medicare covers services provided in the ER and in the Hospital since that is the law. Services provided in the clinic are not. Mayo submits the documentation to Medicare, but requires payment from the patient. Mayo does not bind itself to government approved reimbursement rates. For those of you familiar with Mayo Jacksonville, this means that work performed in the Mayo building will be billed to Medicare while work performed in the Davis building will be billed to the individual. If anyone doubts this, please PM me and I will be happy to provide you with bills I have received of nearly $6,000 for work done in November and December. To date, I have received less than $2,000 in reimbursement from Medicare. This is a squeeze, but I can afford it to receive the best available medical care. Many seniors cannot.

What we are seeing emerge today is a two level delivery system of healthcare similar to that in the UK where the private system (the Harley street physicians) offer significant better and faster care than is available to the general public under the national health plan.

The second issue is whether or not the present proposals for healthcare reform should be considered in an objective look at these issues. My belief is that they should. The present proposals assume a $400-500 billion dollar reduction in Medicare payouts over the next ten years. Savings on this level are not possible without either rationing of services or severe reduction in reimbursement rates. Either would result in an increasing separation of services from those that can afford private coverage and those who cannot.

For those who say reducing fraud and waste can do this; I would refer them to the statement by our Secretary of HHS that there is a potential for a savings of $2.5 billion here but only at a cost of one dollar for every $1.55 saved. This is what, we consider in private industry, a rounding error. Should we go after the money –absolutely, but will it make a difference? NO!

My personal preference is that we start working through this problem with a series of easily done steps. The first of these would be to make existing Civil Service plans available to every company and every person in the United States. This would immediately eliminate the problems of pre-existing conditions, portability, competition and any other issue of ‘evil’ insurance companies profiting on the backs of the people. It also ensures that individuals can purchase plans that they believe are appropriate to them.

I would then propose that we look at tort reform, increasing availability of experimental treatments to those that may be terminally ill w/o fear of finding of fault, overhauling our Medicaid system (don’t get me started on this) and supplemental support for those American citizens who can still not afford adequate health insurance. My first and most basic proposal could pass Congress tomorrow with near universal support from both sides of the aisle. What’s wrong with starting there - a rational, simple step that provides at least half of what we want to accomplish, that can be started in 2010 rather than 2013 and requires very little increase in taxpayer funding? I must be wrong – it cannot be that simple, or can it?

[Guest]

There are two bills in Congress under review (one from the Senate, one from the House). There will be some effort to devise a version that may passable in both houses and sent to the President for approval or veto. Please advise what you know they are going to advance -- even before ?
If you oppose what appears to be going forward, would you share with us why you feel that way?
Also, are you currently benefiting from Medicare?

[Guest]

I have intentionally not identified the "source" as that is not important. :

Of all the statements on this board concerning this subject, I find this one the most frightening! The source is not important??? Since when? :ohdear:

I, for one, would love an answer to that question before I would even consider looking into this. My husband just went to the cardiologist without receiving any such notification.

Take it from me, "the source" is always the most important, the cornerstone of deciphering how credible any "alleged" fact is.

I feel a Glenn Beck moment coming on....sniff.... sniff.... :cryin2: (Oh! That's right! He was the guy who said "He was not a journalist, just a commentator and didn't have to have the facts."

[Guest]

There are two bills in Congress under review (one from the Senate, one from the House). There will be some effort to devise a version that may passable in both houses and sent to the President for approval or veto. Please advise what you know they are going to advance -- even before ?
If you oppose what appears to be going forward, would you share with us why you feel that way?
Also, are you currently benefiting from Medicare?

Let me answer your second question first - I am presently on Medicare as the law requires for those of us over the age of 65. As to what I know of the two bills, I take my lead from the people supporting them and the CBO. Both the House and Senate bills require a decrease in projected Medicare outlays by more than $400 billion in order to 'make the books balance.' This is totally unrealistic. Politicians will never have the guts to reduce payments to seniors - it's not going to happen.

For Chelsea, whom I respect, I do not know the source of REH's information, nor do I care - I have provided my own, personal information that includes the decision of The Mayo Clinic to refuse reimbursement from Medicare. I have also offered to provide proof of this to any member of this board who sends me a PM. Please forgive me if I do not want to out the details of my condition and treatments on this board for all to follow.

Lastly, why is this a 'Glenn Beck' moment? I went to Mayo because Mayo offers better treatment and therefore a better chance of continuing to live than our local cardiologist's treatment. I wanted and still want to see my grandchildren grow up. Why, in the name of God, does this make me a Glenn Beck acolayte?

[Guest]

BBQMan..Thanks for the solid analysis and your points. Unfortunately, there are still attempts to "hijack" the issue and make it political when in fact it is a matter of understanding what is best for the senior citizens and the future of medical. Beck has nothing to do with the subject unless people are reluctant to make up their own mind. Identifying it as "frightening" not to know the source is, again being reluctant to do your homework and understanding the best solution and making up your own mind. The "source" is only one input. There are many!! I will make a promise. If the source is identified there will be a wild attack on the source as opposed to the issue.
If someone does not agree with the source data throw it out and remember it is only one of many sources needed to make an intellegent decision. :mornincoffee:

[Guest]

that Washington will continue to march forward no matter what any analysis portrays. This is not to turn the subject political but address the reality of what is happening.

I would venture to say the majority (pick a number that suits you....but in my opinion, the real number is a larger margin than Obama won the election).....would like for health care reform to be a more orderly process instead of the current time, dated, forced march to get "anything" passed.

I continue to suggest every breathing senior educate themselves as this thread is attempting to do. Then in addition to discussing with friends and neighbors, contact your representatives and make your desires known. The fact of life is, it is an election year and it may just have an affect on some (we don't need them all) to slow the process down.

What we all know intuitively from each of our respective backgrounds and experience is that what we have as health care today, may well turn out to be the best we have ever had. For certain, it will turn out to be the least cost compared to the future guesstimates.

Yes this thread could have remained elsewhere in TOTV for hopefully broader exposure.....there are only 500+ signed up for political and thousands not.

Such a pity because some FEW cannot address the time of day without snipping and jabbing partisan fluff that intellectually (or otherwise) adds zero value.

btk

[Guest]

I don't know if this is what you would call a hijack or not or if perhaps it has been answered, but I'd like to ask it anyway. No, I don't like what I've heard thus far and it has nothing to do with Beck or whatever. My question is, however: Regardless of what is passed that forces eveyone to have insurance or else.....who's going to ensure that you actually have "coverage". Look at how much is already not covered regardless of what or how much insurance you have. You can have all the insurance in the world but if you are the only one doing the paying, what good is it?

[Guest]

policing who has insurance or not is some sort of validation via the annual tax return.
As if that is the gold standard for truth and honesty and reality:D

btk