Power Hungry for Healthcare

The health care takeover rapidly progresses…

The Associated Press announced today that the White House wants more power to set Medicare rates.

The proposed plan would convert Medpac– an independent congressional advisory agency – into a powerful decision-making arm of the executive branch headed by a group of Medicare “experts”.

The purpose of the change? – To reduce Medicare costs and discouraging doctors from ordering “unnecessary and costly” diagnostic tests. Under this Medpac Reform Act, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is even proposing converting the agency into an analog of the Federal Reserve – with power to set Medicare payments just as the FED sets interest rates.

The group would recommend changes in Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers. Congress would no longer have the authority to make changes to any proposals.

Finally the plan would centralize all rate-setting power at the federal level. State and local government would no longer have any say in determining reimbursement rates.

This expansion of executive power is simply unbelievable…

• Price fixing is never a good idea for any industry. How can a handful of government

  bureaucrats possibly determine a pricing system for a complex nation-wide

  health care program?

• Who decides what qualifies as an “unnecessary and costly” diagnostic test –

  certainly not you or your doctor…

• Power would be centralized at the executive level and all oversight would be

  eliminated – leaving no room for input from Congress or state governments

  (not to mention doctors and patients).

So far this plan would only apply to Medicare … However, sounds like a template for the new Obama Public Health Care plan …