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Superbelt · 01-26-2004, 06:31 AM

The Issues faced were :

--A way to cover the costs of Prescription Drugs.
--To deal with the ever rising costs of Medication.

The MediPork Bill solved neither.

Instead the Issue was prostituted and perverted. Neither of the issues were solved, and the stated Price Tag was used to cover their cannibalization of the underlying medical and hospital insurance features

--Bush Fundraisers will make out as Bandits (Big Surprise), as the Medicare Doctor-Patient Relationship is sold out to HMO Insurance/Corporate Raiders. Now HMOs will tell Medicare Doctors how to practice medicine, in order to exact there pound of flesh/profit. All accounts say the Medicare overhead is annually low single digits, and that HMO overhead is usually 30%. Something has to give for this Redistribution, and that will come out of the patient's hide.

--Worst, the cost ranges betwn $400 Billion and $2 Trillion. Alot of Red Ink for The next Generation and the next few Presidents.

Furthermore:
--Medicare is prohibited from asking for buyer's discounts from Drug companies, the way the VA and Union plans do, keeping drug prices artificially high to the tax payer.

--The Re-importation of drugs from Canada is still prohibited to individuals, and it may now extend to existing state plans in Illinois, Pennsylvania, etc.

--The plan doesn't start for atleast 25 1/3 months!! And perhaps as much as 35 months. This raises suspicion that after the election, in a bait and switch move, drastic cut backs in the stated benefits are enacted, using the mounting budget and trade deficits as cover.

--Frivolous items such as Plastic Surgery is now fully deductible as "An Above-Line" deduction like IRAs and 401Ks, and therefore subsidies by taxpayers.

--The Drug Coverage has ridiculous out of pocket expenses for regular Seniors- $1,195 for $1,500 of coverage for the first $5,000 of drug expenses. And this doesn't factor in the exclusion list of covered drugs, which is as long as a flag poll.

--Current Insurance Plans may be de-stabilized, as insurance companies cancel reasonable current drug coverages, to increase profits, using the MediPork Bill as cover.

The only silver lining is that it covers catastrophic care. But the extent of this benefit is unknown, due to the exclusion lists, and considering that HMOs will squeeze patient care and actually kill patients with their cheap notion of medical practice (avoiding x-rays, blood tests).

01-26-2004, 06:31 AM	#33 (permalink)
Superbelt This vexes me. I am terribly vexed. Location: Grantville, Pa	The Issues faced were : --A way to cover the costs of Prescription Drugs. --To deal with the ever rising costs of Medication. The MediPork Bill solved neither. Instead the Issue was prostituted and perverted. Neither of the issues were solved, and the stated Price Tag was used to cover their cannibalization of the underlying medical and hospital insurance features --Bush Fundraisers will make out as Bandits (Big Surprise), as the Medicare Doctor-Patient Relationship is sold out to HMO Insurance/Corporate Raiders. Now HMOs will tell Medicare Doctors how to practice medicine, in order to exact there pound of flesh/profit. All accounts say the Medicare overhead is annually low single digits, and that HMO overhead is usually 30%. Something has to give for this Redistribution, and that will come out of the patient's hide. --Worst, the cost ranges betwn $400 Billion and $2 Trillion. Alot of Red Ink for The next Generation and the next few Presidents. Furthermore: --Medicare is prohibited from asking for buyer's discounts from Drug companies, the way the VA and Union plans do, keeping drug prices artificially high to the tax payer. --The Re-importation of drugs from Canada is still prohibited to individuals, and it may now extend to existing state plans in Illinois, Pennsylvania, etc. --The plan doesn't start for atleast 25 1/3 months!! And perhaps as much as 35 months. This raises suspicion that after the election, in a bait and switch move, drastic cut backs in the stated benefits are enacted, using the mounting budget and trade deficits as cover. --Frivolous items such as Plastic Surgery is now fully deductible as "An Above-Line" deduction like IRAs and 401Ks, and therefore subsidies by taxpayers. --The Drug Coverage has ridiculous out of pocket expenses for regular Seniors- $1,195 for $1,500 of coverage for the first $5,000 of drug expenses. And this doesn't factor in the exclusion list of covered drugs, which is as long as a flag poll. --Current Insurance Plans may be de-stabilized, as insurance companies cancel reasonable current drug coverages, to increase profits, using the MediPork Bill as cover. The only silver lining is that it covers catastrophic care. But the extent of this benefit is unknown, due to the exclusion lists, and considering that HMOs will squeeze patient care and actually kill patients with their cheap notion of medical practice (avoiding x-rays, blood tests).