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Politics : A US National Health Care System? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: wlcnyc who wrote (11203)	11/9/2009 7:07:27 PM
From: Peter Dierks	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42652

I have not followed that part the bill closely but all that I have heard about it is that the doughnut hole will be eliminated which is a good thing. If you wish to know more there is lots of material posted here. There are people on both sides of the debate who post here.

To: wlcnyc who wrote (11203)	11/9/2009 7:59:28 PM
From: i-node	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42652

>> I have not followed that part the bill closely but all that I have heard about it is that the doughnut hole will be eliminated which is a good thing. Not everyone agrees it is a good thing. Part D has been relatively affordable to date, and has outperformed every other government health program the country has tried. Consistently coming in far under budget every single year. Nobody ever planned on Part D paying for EVERYONE's total drug bill. It was designed to perform two basic functions -- a) Provide basic drug coverage for those who needed assistance with the cost of maintenance drugs; and b) Provide catastrophic coverage for those who had massive drug bills. Those who have moderately high drug bills are expected to come up with part of the money on their own. This is one reason the program has been affordable. The Left never liked it because it was BUSH, NOT THEM, who made it happen. No other reason. Do you know that Part B ALSO has a donut hole (except it is worse -- it isn't a hole, it is a LINE). When you visit a doctor you're expected to pick up 20% on your own. But it doesn't max out. That's regardless of how much you spend. I never heard the Ds bitching about THAT. Wonder why? The donut hole is used all over the place as a way of forcing some fiscal responsibility on beneficiaries while keeping costs in check. It is entirely possible that plugging the donut hole will result in Part D becoming an out-of-control plan just like Medicaid or Part A. I agree with you though on MA. The plans generally are far better than MC, so it isn't any surprise that people like them. And they're run by non-government entities, to boot. When they claim they're not cutting MC but then try to eliminate MA, that is just a two-faced lie. They know damned well they are cutting MC benefits but they think they can get away with it without getting called on it. And they may be able to.