Should Dean reveal what he has in store for Medicare?

[Karmadillo]

There's been little comment here regarding Dean's refusal to say what he plans to do regarding the cutting of the rate of growth of Medicare. Given his previous willingness to support Republican Senator Domenici's fairly substantial cuts in the program's growth, it would seem to be a somewhat relevant question. Should voters insist he reveal his plan before they vote or should they trust him to do the right thing without knowing in advance what that right thing might be?

http://msnbc.com/news/997620.asp?0sl=-21#BODY

The debate’s high point came when Kerry no fewer than six times pressed Dean to answer the question of whether as president he would seek to reduce the rate of growth of Medicare.

Dean deftly avoided giving a direct answer, at one point changing the topic by saying, “What I intend to do in Medicare is to increase reimbursements for states like Iowa and Vermont....”

Kerry refused to let go, saying, “You still haven’t answered the question.”

Reporters had no better luck in the post-debate spin room. When one reporter asked Dean again whether he’d reduce Medicare’s growth rate, Dean replied, “I said Medicare was off the table, cuts in Medicare are off the table.”

How about the rate of growth? the reporter persisted.
“Cuts in Medicare are off the table,” Dean repeated.

more...

[madfloridian]

1. Here is a statement.

Abandoning America's Seniors

DES MOINES--Democratic presidential candidate Governor Howard Dean, M.D., issued the following statement today: "In its unseemly rush to go home for Thanksgiving, the Senate abandoned America's seniors to the tender mercies of the drug industry and HMOs. Congress claims they’ve passed a prescription drug benefit -- but for America’s seniors, this bill is a turkey and it represents everything wrong with Washington today.

"This bill will pay for less than a quarter of our seniors' prescription drug costs. It actually prohibits the government from negotiating lower drug prices from the drug industry. It takes billions away from middle-class seniors and gives them away as HMO subsidies. It keeps seniors from importing safe, affordable medicines from Canada. It guarantees drug prices stay high, eliminates employer-based coverage for millions of Americans, and drives millions more out of traditional Medicare into untested, unreliable private plans.

We can fix this terrible mess. We can leverage lower drug prices out of drug companies, encourage generic drug use and secure generous, guaranteed and affordable drug coverage -- all in traditional Medicare. In Vermont we actually provided a prescription drug benefit and we went after the drug industry and drug prices, and we can do it again for America because the people not the special interests run this campaign. This bill had a near-death experience in the House. It should have died there. Instead of delivering a real Medicare drug benefit, Congress found a way to protect the drug industry’s prices and HMO industry's profit margins.We can't afford to play this kind of cynical politics with our country's health any longer. Until we change Washington and challenge its entrenched special interests, America's seniors will continue to get the short end of the stick."

This is a pretty clear indication that he will work to get something that does not sell seniors out. I once heard him say there is room for the private sector to be involved, but not at the expense of the seniors. That is not a bad point of view. Wisely involving the private sector can be done. It does not have to lead to the complete privatization as this plan is doing.

[dkf]

2. Its not so much what he wants to do with medicare

it's what he wants to do for the entire health care system:

http://www.doctorsfordean.org/Healthy%20America%20Initiative_D4D_Website.doc

Dr. Howard Dean’s
Healthy America Initiative

VISION
The Healthy America initiative is Governor Howard Dean’s comprehensive plan to reform American health care. Healthy America aims to refocus American health care on five principles: universal coverage, evidence-based medicine, prevention, patient-centered care, and affordability. Dr. Dean also is proposing five specific steps the federal government can take to improve care and contain costs as quickly as possible.

BACKGROUND
On June 5th, 2003, Governor Dean addressed health care leaders in Washington, DC to outline elements of his plan to improve the quality of care and control spiraling health care costs (For full text of this speech, go to: LINK). Dr. Dean emphasized that slowing the rapid rise of health care costs is critical to making affordable health insurance universally available. He further noted that the best strategy for controlling costs is making evidenced-based information available and allowing doctors and nurses the time to provide compassionate, effective and error-free care. Putting fact-based information in the hands of both patients and doctors enables sensible decisions, which lead to a more cost-effective health care system.

Unfortunately, today's health care system:
·Is wasteful and much more costly than it needs to be.
·Too frequently harms patients instead of helping them.
·Frustrates doctors and nurses who, while highly motivated to do the right thing, face too much paperwork, perverse incentives, constant pressure on their reimbursement rates, and not enough help in doing their jobs.
·Confuses and frustrates patients trying to navigate a fragmented system that is not designed around their needs or those of their families.
·Overwhelms patients and health professionals with vast quantities of information, much of which is designed to maximize sales of products and procedures, not to help inform choices.
·Rarely provides the help needed by patients to manage their own health – especially the 60% who suffer from a chronic condition (88% for those over 65).
·Ranks below that of most other industrialized nations despite what we spend on health care.

Governor Dean’s Healthy America initiative aims to create a lower-cost, higher-quality health care system. Among the key steps are controlling the runaway cost of prescription drugs, using information technology to reduce administrative costs imposed on hospitals and physicians, reducing avoidable medical errors (now costing between $70 and $100 billion per year), and ensuring that new technologies, including new drugs, get properly evaluated (financially as well as clinically) before they are widely used.

[Karmadillo]

3. Kick