Reforming Medicare Payments Helps Ensure Access to Better Care
By Senator John Thune
Thousands of South Dakotans, including my own father back in my hometown of Murdo, depend on Medicare to help with the cost of their health care. Since 1997, beneficiaries’ access to quality care has been threatened due to Medicare’s use of a flawed physician reimbursement formula known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). The formula was implemented to help curb the increasing costs associated with the Medicare program. Unfortunately, rather than helping to rein in costs, the caps associated with the SGR would have made large payment cuts to Medicare physicians, providing a disincentive for doctors to accept Medicare patients. Since then, Congress has been kicking the can down the road, patching this defective payment system 17 times.
Congress recognized how important it is to provide certainty to Medicare beneficiaries and physicians, which is why on April 14, the Senate approved the bipartisan Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act. This legislation repeals the flawed SGR formula and modernizes Medicare payments to incentivize high-quality, low-cost care for seniors.
I am pleased that Medicare payment modernization included a provision I championed that gives rural providers sufficient technical assistance to ensure they are able to effectively transition into new payment models. Additionally, I am pleased that the bill included provisions that I helped spearhead that would improve access to durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies through Medicare. These are just a few of the many reforms included in the bill that are vital to ensuring that South Dakota seniors continue receiving high quality, affordable health care.
Not only do our seniors deserve access to quality and efficient health care, but our physicians should be paid for the quality of care they provide, not the volume of services they provide. I will continue working to strengthen Medicare to ensure beneficiaries receive the best care possible, while improving access to care in rural communities. There is more work to be done to protect and preserve this important program, but the passage of the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act was an important first step to ensure we make needed reforms that will continue putting South Dakota seniors first.
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So John lets hear your strategy to keep people on their insurance, for preexisting conditions, to not be canceled if they have a long term illness.How about putting people on the same health care policy as all of the Government employees has.How about the same retirement plan you have retirementI read that the 100 boys club get about 80 grand for long term service in the Senate.Can youget our social security to about 40 Grand,How about taking the cap off of social security.So I can help get to my 5 million dollar exemption like your rich friends your trying to protect.
So the proper maintenance of health care for the elderly is never seen as socialism, but offering a network for working families without health insurance or the expansion of Medicaid for the working poor is?….. What is the difference?
Medicare is not socialism, it is a crucial entitlement that was promised to us boomers. We earned it by paying for it. That being said, I truly believe that anyone under 55 should not be allowed access to this program when they reach my age. What have they done to earn this right? It is their obligation to pay in, and they should continue, but they should not have access to the program I am in. Let the Feds block grant the program to the tots and the States can figure it out.
Wow! “Medicare is not socialism.” Yep, it is just an entitlement… you say. So it works like a 401-k… you say. You only get out of it what you put into it…..Huh?….. I don’t think so. It is definitely “socialism,” but so is the local public library, your local fire and police departments and don’t forget the public school system.
Socialism is everywhere. It is your level of tolerance for it which distinguishes you between being a member of the left or the right, however.
no conservative seriously wants government to stop paving roads and operating city water systems, etc – regardless of democrat claims that the tea party wants to return to the horse and buggy days in some fashion. socialism is where you cross the line with regard to the shared public accomodations that government makes possible, and aim to 1. acquire them for your own political needs, and having done that, 2. blow them out of all proportion with regards to funding.
THAT my friends is socialism. THAT is what conservatives don’t want. We like indoor toilets, electricity, paved roads and effective affordable medical treatment.