Posted by
Doctor Bart on Sunday, May 13, 2007 11:52:48 AM
In a remarkable display of ignorance, Barack Obama assailed so-called Medicare Advantage Plans as at fault for rising costs of Medicare. Blindly looking only at dollars spent per patient overlooks the real reasons that such plans cost more.
- Private Medicare plans are more common in expensive urban areas
- Private Medicare Plans provide more benefits to the patient than does traditional Medicare, form enhanced pharmacy benefits to exercise programs, to intense disease management programs for patients with chronic diseases
- due to the increased benefits, the plans are actually more attractive to patients with chronic disease and thus requiring more care
Obama fails to realize the devastating potential consequences of cutting payments to Private Medicare providers- not enough doctors to take care of the aging population! You see doctors do not have to accept Medicare patients. Due to the poor re-imbursement and bureaucratic burden of traditional Medicare, I have not accepted a new Medicare patient into my practice in over 10 years. Only private Medicare patients insured under HMO plans are welcome.
Obama also fails to recognize other causes of Medicare costs. Doctors fees need to cover their expenses. Physician costs include a huge burden for malpractice. Although I practice in California, a state with caps on malpractice awards, I still pay $32,000 a year for malpractice coverage. In states without such caps, premiums for Family Doctors such as myself who deliver babies would pay twice that.
But you won't see Obama talk about cutting costs in Health Care by dealing with root problems such as tort reform. No, he prefers the simplistic solution of blaming everything on the insurance companies.