Taking a closer look at the recent Annual Report of the Medicare Board of Trustees, a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by two critics of the healthcare reform law predicted it would "gut" the Medicare program, significantly cut payments to hospitals and doctors, and drive many of them out of Medicare.
Under ObamaCare, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Medicare payments will be lower than Medicaid rates by 2019, wrote Peter Ferrara, director of entitlement and budget policy at the Institute for Policy Innovation, and Larry Hunter, president of the Social Security Institute. They predicted many physicians providing care such as hip and knee replacements, diagnostics and treatment for cancer and heart disease would drop out of Medicare.
"The president's concept of spreading the wealth includes sacking the Medicare system, on which America's seniors have come to rely for medical care, in favor of others the president's progressive vision deems more worthy," they wrote.
To reach its goal of reducing the deficit while simultaneously expanding coverage to 32 million more people, the law would cut $818 billion in Medicare payments to hospitals from 2014-2023, the first 10 years of full implementation, or a total of $3.2 trillion in such cuts over the first 20 years, 2014-2033, the new report says. Likewise, ObamaCare would reduce Medicare Part B payments for physicians and other services by $1.05 trillion over the first 10 years or $4.95 trillion over the first 20 years.
"Everyone should know by now that Medicare suffers dramatic long-term deficits and unfunded liabilities, and is in need of fundamental, structural reforms," the authors added. "But effectively refusing to pay the doctors and hospitals that provide the medical care, the program promises to seniors is no way to solve that problem."
President Obama has not disclosed how the law would reduce the deficit, but the new Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board appears to be the vehicle. "ObamaCare empowers this board to close Medicare financing gaps by adopting further Medicare cuts that would become effective without any Congressional action," the authors noted.
Read the Wall Street Journal opinion piece on healthcare reform.
Read more coverage on healthcare reform.
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Under ObamaCare, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Medicare payments will be lower than Medicaid rates by 2019, wrote Peter Ferrara, director of entitlement and budget policy at the Institute for Policy Innovation, and Larry Hunter, president of the Social Security Institute. They predicted many physicians providing care such as hip and knee replacements, diagnostics and treatment for cancer and heart disease would drop out of Medicare.
"The president's concept of spreading the wealth includes sacking the Medicare system, on which America's seniors have come to rely for medical care, in favor of others the president's progressive vision deems more worthy," they wrote.
To reach its goal of reducing the deficit while simultaneously expanding coverage to 32 million more people, the law would cut $818 billion in Medicare payments to hospitals from 2014-2023, the first 10 years of full implementation, or a total of $3.2 trillion in such cuts over the first 20 years, 2014-2033, the new report says. Likewise, ObamaCare would reduce Medicare Part B payments for physicians and other services by $1.05 trillion over the first 10 years or $4.95 trillion over the first 20 years.
"Everyone should know by now that Medicare suffers dramatic long-term deficits and unfunded liabilities, and is in need of fundamental, structural reforms," the authors added. "But effectively refusing to pay the doctors and hospitals that provide the medical care, the program promises to seniors is no way to solve that problem."
President Obama has not disclosed how the law would reduce the deficit, but the new Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board appears to be the vehicle. "ObamaCare empowers this board to close Medicare financing gaps by adopting further Medicare cuts that would become effective without any Congressional action," the authors noted.
Read the Wall Street Journal opinion piece on healthcare reform.
Read more coverage on healthcare reform.
- GOP Leader John Boehner Calls for Repeal of Obamacare
- New Poll Shows Support Slipping Again For Healthcare Reform Law