To Serve the Elderly
Simple Justice: No, it’s not a cookbook. But as our society ages, lawyers should be aware of what’s happening in other areas with older Americans as well as those that impact us professionally and personally, such as DWE.
The New York Times has an article this morning about the Senate Republican’s cut of 10.6% in Medicare reimbursement rates. The American Medical Association has launched a series of ads to fight this cut, but it remains to be seen whether this effort will have any impact. President Bush (you remember him, he’s the guy that John McCain never talks about) says he will veto legislation restoring the cuts.
The rationale is to “rein in the rising cost of health care.” Certainly a worthy cause, in a vacuum. But like most overarching ideals, the devil is in the details. On whose back will costs be controlled. The Big Insurance Companies? No. Pharmaceutical Companies? No. The physician? Yes.
Consider Medicare the health care equivalent of indigent defense. Doctors who take Medicare patients are required to accept the reimbursement rates set by Medicare, rates that have been unilaterally reduced for years. The rates bear no relationship to the costs of a medical practice. They just are.
The rates paid for treatment of military and veterans are tied to Medicare, so what’s said about one applies equally to the other.
When Medicare reduces payments to doctors, fees under the military program are also reduced, and it becomes more difficult for military families to find doctors.
Congress is “playing chicken with your health care,” the Military Officers Association of America told its members in a bulletin last week.
Irony stems from the pretense that the Republicans love our military. They wear lapel flag pins to prove it. They give speeches about supporting the military. Then they cut the reimbursement rate…