tblue
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Wed Oct-21-09 12:35 AM
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Would someone please explain to me what "Medicare + 5%" means? I mean, politically. |
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How is that better or worse than anything else? Do progressives, generally speaking, want rates greater than Medicare? What's the argument for it? And where does 5% stand within the range of reasonable possibilities? Is that a lot or a little?
I have no judgment about it either way. I have to confess my ignorance on this point of proposed policy and I like to be informed. Thanks in advance for enlightening me!
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Oregone
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Wed Oct-21-09 01:18 AM
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1. "How is that better or worse than anything else?" |
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Medicare pays low rates to doctors for rendered services. If they use the Medicare rate table, the insurance will be paying out less than if they followed a higher rate table. This saves the government money substantially and could lead to a lower per capita medical expenditure (if enough people are covered by it).
5% is merely an arbitrary number, which is trying to find a middle ground between savings and not paying doctors too little.
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pnwmom
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Wed Oct-21-09 03:39 AM
Response to Original message |
2. Some doctors are already refusing to take all Medicare patients, saying that |
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the costs of care are too high. (In addition to more who opt out of Medicaid.)
I guess the hope is that the additional 5% will encourage doctors to accept these patients.
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DU
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Tue Apr 30th 2024, 11:09 AM
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