eNewsletter

Senate bill would reform Medicare

Published June 12, 2008 - BizTimes Daily

A bipartisan Medicare reform package that was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate would be beneficial for Wisconsin, according to Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.).

The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act was introduced by Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.).

The bill would block pending cuts to Medicare reimbursement rates, would ensure better pay for rural doctors, would lower co-payments for seniors' mental health services and would improve access to telehealth services.

"For too long, the flaws in our Medicare system have given Wisconsin the short end of the stick," Feingold said. "This reform package helps bring more Medicare dollars to Wisconsin. It blocks a scheduled cut to Medicare providers' reimbursement rates and creates a fairer reimbursement system for rural doctors, which will help attract physicians to more areas of Wisconsin. Seniors also receive more access to mental health care and preventative care. And people living in rural parts of Wisconsin will benefit from the bill's telehealth provisions, which will allow them to receive care at local hospitals without having to travel to larger hospitals or cities. We still have much to do to improve Wisconsin's treatment under the Medicare system, but this bill moves us in the right direction."

Feingold said he is frequently contacted by rural physicians who are concerned about an unfair Medicare practice that reimburses rural physicians less per procedure than their urban colleagues - solely because they serve rural communities.

Medicare currently requires a 50-percent co-payment for mental health services, which is significantly higher than the 20-percent required for physical health care services. The bill would lower co-payments for seniors' mental health services until they match other co-pays.

Source: http://www.biztimes.com/daily/2008/6/12/senate-bill-would-reform-medicare

Paul Krugman -- The Health Care Racket

Is the health insurance business a racket? Yes, literally - or so say two New York hospitals, which have filed a racketeering lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group and several of its affiliates.

I don't know how the case will turn out. But whatever happens in court, the lawsuit illustrates perfectly the dysfunctional nature of our health insurance system, a system in which resources that could have been used to pay for medical care are instead wasted in a zero-sum struggle over who ends up with the bill.

The two hospitals accuse UnitedHealth of operating a "rogue business plan" designed to avoid paying clients' medical bills. For example, the suit alleges that patients were falsely told that Flushing Hospital was "not a network provider" so UnitedHealth did not pay the full network rate. UnitedHealth has already settled charges of misleading clients about providers' status brought by New York's attorney general: the company paid restitution to plan members, while attributing the problem to computer errors.

See the complete article HERE

http://www.leadertelegram.com/story-news_local.asp?id=BGSSPTE1DLF

Health care gets election year push

Got health care? Obama, McCain, Bush and Congress do.

That's what signs said Wednesday at Phoenix Park in Eau Claire as Citizen Action of Wisconsin kicked off its Got Healthcare campaign and unveiled its "cows."

"We want to make sure the politicians are up to speed, and the cow will tell them," said Tom Ahrens, northwestern Wisconsin organizer for Citizen Action, a social justice group with several offices in Wisconsin, including Eau Claire.

Got Healthcare is a grass-roots campaign aiming to contact more than 150,000 voters throughout Wisconsin. The event in Eau Claire featured four state residents who spoke about struggling with quality, affordable health care coverage.

See the complete article HERE

Thanks to www.FoxPolitics.net for this and other links.

Medicare is so bad? I don't think so!

"UnitedHealthcare had the lowest rate of contract compliance, according to the AMA report. About 62 percent of medical services billed were paid by UnitedHealthcare at the contracted rate, compared with 71 percent for Aetna and 98 percent for Medicare."

See complete article HERE

Senate Finance summit missed the message - June 19, 2008 - Dr. Don McCanne

The politicians in Washington are not in sync with the health care needs of the nation, but are tuned in to the concerns that the private insurance industry has about its own role in the future of health care financing. They seem to believe that all we need is more of the same: unaffordable private health plans that often fail to prevent financial hardship for those with significant health care needs. They are paralyzed by the meme that replacing our current system of financing health care with a system that would actually work is "not politically feasible."

See the complete article HERE

Deals With Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back

BAGHDAD — Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.

Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat.

The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations.

The no-bid contracts are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India. The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production.

See the complete NYT article HERE

Follow the Money!

It simply doesn't matter what your core issue is, follow the money and you'll virtually always find a politician at the end with his hand out. Tax giveaways for the rich and subsidies to corporations are chump-change compared to the massive societal costs of the reverse government policies that are bought and paid for by corporate interests. Follow the campaign contributions to find out why health care costs are rising at 15% per year, why a totally new private industry was established to administer the Medicare drug plan, and why companies are no longer penalized for hiring illegal immigrants.

Remember the golden rule:

See how our moneyed political system costs each taxpayer over $3000 per year to offset government tax giveaways and other corporate welfare.

How over $100 million per year from health care lobbyists has fueled the manipulation of government rules resulting in spiraling health care costs, and have successfully blocked meaningful health care reform.

How massive campaign contributions from the wealthy pharmaceutical industry won new rules that protect them from low-cost generics, all while much of their research is funded by the taxpayers.

How massive amounts of cash have fueled the hands-off policy at the Mexican border resulting in depressed U.S. worker wages to the benefit of corporate executives and shareholders and to the detriment of the public.

How corporations rule government rather than the other way around, thanks to the "kinder, gentler SEC" bought and paid for by corporate CEOs.

How business interests contribute eight times more than labor interests to our elected representatives, driving economic and trade policies that will ultimately bury U.S. sovereignty.

And how CEO wages are increasing by 25% to 50% per year, all while job losses proliferate, thanks to the free trade laws influenced by campaign contributors.

Paul Krugman -- The Health Care Racket

European Company Plays American Politics -- And Wins

Deals With Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back

To welcome the November elections I have a limited number of copies of my book free to members of my eNewsletter list. We must get people educated on the high cost of our corrupt political system, and I hope these extra copies help us make changes in November.

Follow the Money!