*Best Not Tamper With Medicare*

[chesswarsnow]

Sorry bout that,


1. I'm 53, and I don't like being squeezed out of Medicare, before I can get it.
2. Why should I have to get screwed on this?
3. While the medical industry lives in modern day castles, I have to get kicked out of the Medicare plan.
4. Theres the problem, the medical industry charges *TOO* much!
5. Top to bottom anything that has to do with the medical industry is over priced, insurance companies too.
6. Lets fix that!
7. LINK:http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/abc-news-exclusive-rep-ryan-stands-ground-medicare/story?id=13689568


"Rep. Paul Ryan is doubling down. In the wake of Tuesday's stunning Republican defeat in New York special Congressional election, the Republican House Budget Chairman says he is determined to fight for his Medicare plan even if it ruins his political career. "




Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

 

[G.T.]

what do you mean by starting your outlines with "sorry bout that?"

 

[8537]

You got sold out, thrown under the bus by the Republican leadership claiming to look out for your interests.

The only surprise is that Republicans are surprised.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Sorry bout that,


1. I'm 53, and I don't like being squeezed out of Medicare, before I can get it.
2. Why should I have to get screwed on this?
3. While the medical industry lives in modern day castles, I have to get kicked out of the Medicare plan.
4. Theres the problem, the medical industry charges *TOO* much!
5. Top to bottom anything that has to do with the medical industry is over priced, insurance companies too.
6. Lets fix that!
7. LINK:ABC News Exclusive: Rep. Ryan Stands His Ground on Medicare Reform - ABC News


"Rep. Paul Ryan is doubling down. In the wake of Tuesday's stunning Republican defeat in New York special Congressional election, the Republican House Budget Chairman says he is determined to fight for his Medicare plan even if it ruins his political career. "




Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

Obama already "tampered" with it. he stripped money from Medicare to fund his health care plan. Already been done.

 

[Claudette]

Yup he did. Around 500 Billion.

Talk about hypocrisy. Here they are lambasting Ryans plan while conveniently ignoring that measly 500 Billion they are stripping out of Medicare to fund their pet project.

Of course he isn't trying to throw grandma off a cliff. Only the Reps are trying to do that.

Whats a measly 500 billion stripped out of Medicare??

I'm sure the elderly will appreciate his concern for them.

 

[chesswarsnow]

Sorry bout that,


1. Well, just back from the dentists office had a fractured #19 tooth, *second moler*a chunk broke off, and I am a little like a wounded bear.
2. So these fucks steal money for Obama *bullshit* Care, and wanna throw my ass under the buss to afford to do it?
3. They can go fuck themselves!
4. Fuck all you fucks up in Washington!
5. Ya'll had better fix this or get voted out you fucks!


Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

 

[waltky]

Medicare costin' too much...

Lieberman: Medicare Will Go Broke and ‘Take Our Government Down With It’
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 – When unveiling a proposal to reform Medicare alongside Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) warned that the entitlement program will eventually “go broke” and lead to a “fiscal disaster” for the United States.

“Each Medicare enrollee will on the average take almost three times more out in Medicare benefits than they contribute in payroll taxes and premiums,” Lieberman said during a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday. “That’s why we say that the status quo of Medicare is unsustainable. And what we mean is that if we do nothing, Medicare will go broke and take our government down with it.” Senators Coburn and Lieberman claim their proposal would save more than $600 billion over 10 years and reduce Medicare’s 75-year unfunded liabilities by about $10 trillion.

Their plan also would require wealthier Americans to pay for more of their Medicare benefits out of pocket. Individuals with income between $85,000 and $107,000 would pay $12,500 ($170,000-$214,000 for married couples); individuals with income between $107,000 and $160,000 would pay $17,500 ($214,000 - $320,000 for married couples) and individuals with income between $160,000 and $213,000 ($320,000 for married couples) would pay $22,500. The proposal would also increase the age of eligibility by two months each year starting with individuals who were born in 1949 (those who turn 65 in 2014) until the eligibility age reaches 67 in 2025 where it would remain for each year thereafter.

“Each part of our proposal will make some group of people unhappy and will provide easy target for attack by those who understandably want to preserve the status quo but the status quo only leads to the collapse of Medicare and fiscal disaster for our country,” said Lieberman. “Our national debt is over 14 trillion dollars and growing by more than a trillion dollars every year. The biggest, but not the only drivers of the debt are entitlements including Medicare. So if we don’t deal with those entitlements, we’re never going to balance our budget again.” Sen. Coburn said that every American will “suffer” if Medicare is not changed now.

“Medicare has to be fixed. We have to change it. You can live in la la land and say, ‘no it’s going to stay the same.’ It isn’t going to stay the same. Even if the Congress doesn’t do anything, it isn’t going to stay the same because we’re not going to be able to borrow the money to afford it and what people don’t realize is there’s a debt wall coming in the world,” said Coburn. “It’s going to hit next July where the world’s demand for sovereign debt is 13 trillion dollars and the world’s liquidity to fund it is 9 trillion. If we don’t have our house in order by that time, every American -- whether you’re in Medicare or not -- is going to suffer precipitously.”

Lieberman: Medicare Will Go Broke and

 

[Greenbeard]

1. I'm 53, and I don't like being squeezed out of Medicare, before I can get it.

Sounds like you've made the error of not being two years older. Rookie mistake.

No Medicare for you!

 

[Antiderivative]

Gary Johnson says give Medicare to the state and make the federal government solvent.

Let's have 50 incubators rather than a long arm of the government.

I like this idea.

 

[DontBeStupid]

he stripped money from Medicare to fund his health care plan.

Funny how they complain that Obama doesn't make cuts, then when he finds some savings, they attack him for it. Cute. Anyway ...

Ford the record, he ended Medicare Advantage which was basically taxpayer money going to insurance companies and letting those companies take care of seniors. Oh, and the insurance company apparently needed a premium of 14% on top of regular costs. Yay for efficiency. Obama stopped all that and rolled many of the services into regular Medicare, so now regular Medicare actually provides more benefits to seniors than before.

 

[Mustang]

Sorry bout that,


1. I'm 53, and I don't like being squeezed out of Medicare, before I can get it.
2. Why should I have to get screwed on this?
3. While the medical industry lives in modern day castles, I have to get kicked out of the Medicare plan.
4. Theres the problem, the medical industry charges *TOO* much!
5. Top to bottom anything that has to do with the medical industry is over priced, insurance companies too.
6. Lets fix that!
7. LINK:ABC News Exclusive: Rep. Ryan Stands His Ground on Medicare Reform - ABC News


"Rep. Paul Ryan is doubling down. In the wake of Tuesday's stunning Republican defeat in New York special Congressional election, the Republican House Budget Chairman says he is determined to fight for his Medicare plan even if it ruins his political career. "




Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

Obama already "tampered" with it. he stripped money from Medicare to fund his health care plan. Already been done.

No he didn't. That was Medicare ADVANTAGE.

 

[Greenbeard]

Ford the record, he ended Medicare Advantage which was basically taxpayer money going to insurance companies and letting those companies take care of seniors. Oh, and the insurance company apparently needed a premium of 14% on top of regular costs. Yay for efficiency. Obama stopped all that and rolled many of the services into regular Medicare, so now regular Medicare actually provides more benefits to seniors than before.

The ACA didn't end Medicare Advantage, it revised the benchmarks that were leading to those large overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans. Health Affairs is doing a nice series of policy briefs on various health policy issues. This month they did one on Medicare Advantage plans:

Medicare Advantage Payments: Medicare pays the Medicare Advantage plans to provide benefits in a complicated way. Here's how the system works.

First, plans submit "bids" to CMS, based on their estimated costs per enrollee to cover Part A and B benefits. CMS compares the bid to a "benchmark" amount--the maximum it will pay a plan in a given county or geographic region based on a formula established by statute.

CMS then reviews the bids to ensure they meet the agency's requirements. If a bid exceeds the benchmark, enrollees in that plan pay the difference. (That payment is added to what these enrollees pay as the premium for their Part B coverage.) If a bid is less than the benchmark, as most are in practice, CMS calculates the difference, and then gives 75 percent of that amount to the Medicare Advantage plan in the form of a payment known as a "rebate." [...]

Subsidized Payments: On average, CMS's payments to Medicare Advantage plans are higher than fee-for-service spending for beneficiaries with the same health status. In 2011, Medicare Advantage payments are estimated to be 110 percent of the amount the program would pay for the same beneficiaries under traditional Medicare (Parts A and B).

The additional spending on Medicare Advantage enrollees is in effect subsidized by the nation's taxpayers, who pay more to help pay for the Part B program than they would if the same beneficiaries stayed in traditional Medicare. And the three in four Medicare enrollees who are not in Medicare Advantage plans pay more in higher Part B premiums to help cover the additional spending.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, a nonpartisan panel that advises Congress on Medicare-related issues, recommended revising the method of setting the Medicare Advantage payments. The commission said that there should be "financial neutrality" between payments under the traditional Medicare and the Medicare Advantage program. [...]

What's in the law?

The Affordable Care Act modifies payments to Medicare Advantage plans in several important ways, for a projected savings of $117 billion in federal expenditures for Medicare between fiscal years 2010 and 2019. The changes include the following:

• Revised benchmarks. For 2011, benchmarks are frozen at 2010 levels. Starting in 2012, reductions will be phased in to more closely align benchmarks with fee-for-service spending. The impact of these changes will vary geographically, depending on local fee-for-service spending. For example, in high-Medicare-cost counties, such as Miami-Dade in Florida, benchmarks will be set at 95 percent of average fee-for-service costs. In low-cost areas, such as Boise, Idaho, they will be set at 115 percent. The transitions will occur over two, four, or six years and will be longer in areas that require the largest change.

• Bonus payments. Since 2008, CMS has assigned plans a rating of one to five stars based on their performance on certain quality measures, including clinical outcomes and contract performance. (One star signifies poor performance, two stars means below average, three stars is average, and four and five stars mean above-average and excellent performance, respectively.) Before health care reform, these ratings were intended to help beneficiaries choose from among available health plans, but did not affect federal payments to those plans.

Under the Affordable Care Act, bonus payments will be tied to quality performance. Specifically, beginning in 2012, benchmarks for plans that receive four or more stars will be increased by 1.5 percent in 2012, 3.0 percent in 2013, and 5.0 in 2014 and beyond. The higher benchmarks will effectively increase payments to high-quality plans. Plans that earn fewer than four stars are not eligible for these increases.

But rather than adopting the approach specified in the law, CMS in November 2010 announced that it would use an alternative method for computing quality bonuses. Under its broad authority to create and fund demonstration projects, CMS has set up a Medicare Advantage Quality Bonus Payment Demonstration project.

In this demonstration, plans with as few as three stars (average performance) may qualify for bonus payments. Increases will vary based on the number of stars received from 3 percent for those with three stars to 5 percent for those with five stars. The project will run from 2012 to 2014. CMS estimates it will increase Medicare spending by $6.7 billion over three years, with the funds to come from the Medicare trust fund.

• Revised rebates. The law reduces the size of the rebate that plans can receive when their bids are less than the benchmarks. The percentage that a plan receives varies based on its star rating. By 2014, plan shares will be reduced from 75 percent to 50 percent for plans that receive three or fewer stars. Plans with 3.5 or 4 stars will receive a rebate of 65 percent, and plans with 4.5 or 5 stars will receive 70 percent.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Sorry bout that,


1. I'm 53, and I don't like being squeezed out of Medicare, before I can get it.
2. Why should I have to get screwed on this?
3. While the medical industry lives in modern day castles, I have to get kicked out of the Medicare plan.
4. Theres the problem, the medical industry charges *TOO* much!
5. Top to bottom anything that has to do with the medical industry is over priced, insurance companies too.
6. Lets fix that!
7. LINK:ABC News Exclusive: Rep. Ryan Stands His Ground on Medicare Reform - ABC News


"Rep. Paul Ryan is doubling down. In the wake of Tuesday's stunning Republican defeat in New York special Congressional election, the Republican House Budget Chairman says he is determined to fight for his Medicare plan even if it ruins his political career. "




Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

Yeah.....that's who's livin' fat......

....the medical-industry.

*​

BILL MOYERS: Why is public insurance, a public option, so fiercely opposed by the industry?

WENDELL POTTER: The industry doesn't want to have any competitor. In fact, over the course of the last few years, has been shrinking the number of competitors through a lot of acquisitions and mergers. So first of all, they don't want any more competition period. They certainly don't want it from a government plan that might be operating more efficiently than they are, that they operate. The Medicare program that we have here is a government-run program that has administrative expenses that are like three percent or so.

BILL MOYERS: Compared to the industry's--

WENDELL POTTER: They spend about 20 cents of every premium dollar on overhead, which is administrative expense or profit. So they don't want to compete against a more efficient competitor.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QwX_soZ1GI]YouTube - ‪BILL MOYERS JOURNAL | Wendell Potter | PBS‬‏[/ame]​

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Sorry bout that,


1. I'm 53, and I don't like being squeezed out of Medicare, before I can get it.
2. Why should I have to get screwed on this?
3. While the medical industry lives in modern day castles, I have to get kicked out of the Medicare plan.
4. Theres the problem, the medical industry charges *TOO* much!
5. Top to bottom anything that has to do with the medical industry is over priced, insurance companies too.
6. Lets fix that!
7. LINK:ABC News Exclusive: Rep. Ryan Stands His Ground on Medicare Reform - ABC News


"Rep. Paul Ryan is doubling down. In the wake of Tuesday's stunning Republican defeat in New York special Congressional election, the Republican House Budget Chairman says he is determined to fight for his Medicare plan even if it ruins his political career. "




Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

Your to late Obama gutted Medicare to sell his Obama care.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Sorry bout that,


1. I'm 53, and I don't like being squeezed out of Medicare, before I can get it.
2. Why should I have to get screwed on this?
3. While the medical industry lives in modern day castles, I have to get kicked out of the Medicare plan.
4. Theres the problem, the medical industry charges *TOO* much!
5. Top to bottom anything that has to do with the medical industry is over priced, insurance companies too.
6. Lets fix that!
7. LINK:ABC News Exclusive: Rep. Ryan Stands His Ground on Medicare Reform - ABC News


"Rep. Paul Ryan is doubling down. In the wake of Tuesday's stunning Republican defeat in New York special Congressional election, the Republican House Budget Chairman says he is determined to fight for his Medicare plan even if it ruins his political career. "




Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

Obama already "tampered" with it. he stripped money from Medicare to fund his health care plan. Already been done.

Aw, gee.....you forgot to post any data to support your allegation.

​

 

[oldsalt]

Sorry bout that,


1. I'm 53, and I don't like being squeezed out of Medicare, before I can get it.
2. Why should I have to get screwed on this?
3. While the medical industry lives in modern day castles, I have to get kicked out of the Medicare plan.
4. Theres the problem, the medical industry charges *TOO* much!
5. Top to bottom anything that has to do with the medical industry is over priced, insurance companies too.
6. Lets fix that!
7. LINK:ABC News Exclusive: Rep. Ryan Stands His Ground on Medicare Reform - ABC News


"Rep. Paul Ryan is doubling down. In the wake of Tuesday's stunning Republican defeat in New York special Congressional election, the Republican House Budget Chairman says he is determined to fight for his Medicare plan even if it ruins his political career. "




Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

Your to late Obama gutted Medicare to sell his Obama care.

YOU are stupid. Git yer shit together gunny.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Yup he did. Around 500 Billion.

Another retired, old-fart????!!



Ya' gotta understand. A while, back (the late-60s/early-'70s), younger-people (finally) figured-out "....Because I SAID SO!!!" is merely the parting-shot for someone who's LOST an argument.

"Yup he did." has (pretty-much) the same value.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Sorry bout that,


1. Well, just back from the dentists office had a fractured #19 tooth, *second moler*a chunk broke off, and I am a little like a wounded bear.
2. So these fucks steal money for Obama *bullshit* Care, and wanna throw my ass under the buss to afford to do it?
3. They can go fuck themselves!
4. Fuck all you fucks up in Washington!
5. Ya'll had better fix this or get voted out you fucks!


Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

So.....exactly WHICH part of Obama *bullshit* Care is having...

....the most-negative impact....

....on your whiny-ass, poor-excuse for a Life?



(O.K., everyone....watch Jimmy The Fop.....)

 

[Mr. Shaman]

he stripped money from Medicare to fund his health care plan.

Funny how they complain that Obama doesn't make cuts, then when he finds some savings, they attack him for it. Cute. Anyway ...

Ford the record, he ended Medicare Advantage which was basically taxpayer money going to insurance companies and letting those companies take care of seniors. Oh, and the insurance company apparently needed a premium of 14% on top of regular costs. Yay for efficiency. Obama stopped all that and rolled many of the services into regular Medicare, so now regular Medicare actually provides more benefits to seniors than before.

BILL MOYERS: You told Congress that the industry has hijacked our health care system and turned it into a giant ATM for Wall $treet. You said, "I saw how they confuse their customers and dump the sick, all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors." How do they satisfy their Wall Street investors?

WENDELL POTTER: Well, there's a measure of profitability that investors look to, and it's called a medical loss ratio. And it's unique to the health insurance industry. And by medical loss ratio, I mean that it's a measure that tells investors or anyone else how much of a premium dollar is used by the insurance company to actually pay medical claims. And that has been shrinking, over the years, since the industry's been dominated by, or become dominated by for-profit insurance companies. Back in the early '90s, or back during the time that the Clinton plan was being debated, 95 cents out of every dollar was sent, you know, on average was used by the insurance companies to pay claims. Last year, it was down to just slightly above 80 percent.

So, investors want that to keep shrinking. And if they see that an insurance company has not done what they think meets their expectations with the medical loss ratio, they'll punish them. Investors will start leaving in droves.

I've seen a company stock price fall 20 percent in a single day, when it did not meet Wall Street's expectations with this medical loss ratio."

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QwX_soZ1GI]YouTube - ‪BILL MOYERS JOURNAL | Wendell Potter | PBS‬‏[/ame]​

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Sorry bout that,


1. I'm 53, and I don't like being squeezed out of Medicare, before I can get it.
2. Why should I have to get screwed on this?
3. While the medical industry lives in modern day castles, I have to get kicked out of the Medicare plan.
4. Theres the problem, the medical industry charges *TOO* much!
5. Top to bottom anything that has to do with the medical industry is over priced, insurance companies too.
6. Lets fix that!
7. LINK:ABC News Exclusive: Rep. Ryan Stands His Ground on Medicare Reform - ABC News


"Rep. Paul Ryan is doubling down. In the wake of Tuesday's stunning Republican defeat in New York special Congressional election, the Republican House Budget Chairman says he is determined to fight for his Medicare plan even if it ruins his political career. "




Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

Obama already "tampered" with it. he stripped money from Medicare to fund his health care plan. Already been done.

No he didn't. That was Medicare ADVANTAGE.

....aka.....

Medicare D

​