And, of course, the answer is to throw both baby and bathwater out of the window.

hillbillypharmacist: And, of course, the answer is to throw both baby and bathwater out of the window.

At this point, yes: the baby (who is pushing 50 now and really should move out already), the bathwater, the tub, the pipes, the tiles, the towels, the whole farking lot of it. "Medicare as we know it" is an unrepairable mess. No president or Congress has had the stones to tackle the problem, and $60b/year is almost certainly a lowball figure.

Let ten states have their Medicare/Medicaid money in block grants to figure out single-payer systems, let ten other states go the voucher route, let ten do the Ryan/Wyden thing, let ten others muddle along as is, and let ten states have a free-market system. Check back in a decade and see what happens.

Eh? The Federal Government generally issues some sort of administrative rule and publishes it in the Federal Register and then request public comment and suggestions. In this case, the CMS says that they are delaying implementation to adjust and assess the public comment and suggestions they've invited. Doesn't sound like they actually canned the programs like Cato claim they did.

FTLA:
The CMS received many comments/suggestions on the Prepayment Review and Prior Authorization of Power Mobility Devices (PMDs) demonstration and the Recovery Audit Prepayment Review demonstration. The CMS is considering these comments carefully. Therefore, CMS will delay implementation of these demonstrations. CMS will provide at least 30 days notice before the demonstrations begin.

The Part A to Part B rebilling demonstration remains on schedule and will begin on January 1, 2012.

RexTalionis: Doesn't sound like they actually canned the programs like Cato claim they did.

Wait, the renowned and respected Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank, MISREPRESENTED the actions of a democratic president?

RexTalionis: Doesn't sound like they actually canned the programs like Cato claim they did.



Are you suggesting that the Cato Institute would be less than honest!?

I_Am_Weasel: Are you suggesting that the Cato Institute would be less than honest!?

Are you suggesting that the federal government would be completely honest?

RexTalionis: Eh? The Federal Government generally issues some sort of administrative rule and publishes it in the Federal Register and then request public comment and suggestions. In this case, the CMS says that they are delaying implementation to adjust and assess the public comment and suggestions they've invited. Doesn't sound like they actually canned the programs like Cato claim they did.

FTLA:
The CMS received many comments/suggestions on the Prepayment Review and Prior Authorization of Power Mobility Devices (PMDs) demonstration and the Recovery Audit Prepayment Review demonstration. The CMS is considering these comments carefully. Therefore, CMS will delay implementation of these demonstrations. CMS will provide at least 30 days notice before the demonstrations begin.

The Part A to Part B rebilling demonstration remains on schedule and will begin on January 1, 2012

Except that this kind of "delay" has been happening for the past 25 years. An obvious fraud-magnet system like Medicare's "pay-and-chase" doesn't stick around that long...other than by design.

Headso: You are all not looking at the big picture people, obviously medicare fraud funds CIA black ops. Do I have to spell it out for you!

Black Ops and teleportation chrononauts to Mars. I mean, Obama's got bills to pay, and those interplanetary trips cost a little more than the $20B in plane rides to Hawaii.

Gulper Eel: Are you suggesting that the federal government would be completely honest?

Who would? I'm suggesting that it's foolish to take this group's word about what the government is doing, because this particular group hates the government on it's best, most truthful day. That's like getting your news about gay culture from Rick Santorum.

hubiestubert: Black Ops and teleportation chrononauts to Mars. I mean, Obama's got bills to pay, and those interplanetary trips cost a little more than the $20B in plane rides to Hawaii.

Transporting their mongrel dog back and forth every single day (not to mention the cost of transporting Bo). This vaca apocalypsation has cost the American taxpayer (read: whites) more than the war in Afghanistan.

Is this Cato's response to recent stories about Medicare fraud prosecution being much higher than last year due to ACA?

GAT_00: Is this Cato's response to recent stories about Medicare fraud prosecution being much higher than last year due to ACA?

Downplay success in the upswing, emphasize failure in the slump. It's pure Keynesian shill reporting. Also, an Alinsky tactic, or something.

kingoomieiii: Who would? I'm suggesting that it's foolish to take this group's word about what the government is doing, because this particular group hates the government on it's best, most truthful day. That's like getting your news about gay culture from Rick Santorum.

Well, it doesn't really matter, because since government isn't perfect we have to scrap it and just have anarchy instead. Otherwise, there would be waste.

kingoomieiii: I'm suggesting that it's foolish to take this group's word about what the government is doing, because this particular group hates the government on it's best, most truthful day.

$60 billion a year flying out the door and not a finger lifted to do anything about it by any party in charge...200 bucks a year stolen from every man, woman and child in the country, before we even tackle fraud in every other area of federal spending...is ample reason to do so.

And it should be noted that unlike partisan-hack think tanks and the legislative and executive branches, Cato goes after defense waste with equal vigor.

hillbillypharmacist: Well, it doesn't really matter, because since government isn't perfect we have to scrap it and just have anarchy instead. Otherwise, there would be waste.

0.003/10. I thought we made resolutions to avoid the failerrific-waste-of-money-or-Somalia false choice argument.

Gulper Eel: 0.003/10. I thought we made resolutions to avoid the failerrific-waste-of-money-or-Somalia false choice argument.

Hey, it's you who is made the false choice argument, and proposing we completely scrap Medicare. I was just following suit.

If you're going to propose something reasonable instead, then go for it.

Gulper Eel: 0.003/10. I thought we made resolutions to avoid the failerrific-waste-of-money-or-Somalia false choice argument.

Except that according to things like the Ryan plan, the only solution to fraud and waste is "NUKE EVERYTHING".

Gulper Eel: hillbillypharmacist: Well, it doesn't really matter, because since government isn't perfect we have to scrap it and just have anarchy instead. Otherwise, there would be waste.

0.003/10. I thought we made resolutions to avoid the failerrific-waste-of-money-or-Somalia false choice argument.

I think we get to keep on using Somalia as an example of a Utopian Libertarian society until Libertarians offer up a better example.

kingoomieiii: RexTalionis: Doesn't sound like they actually canned the programs like Cato claim they did.

Wait, the renowned and respected Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank, MISREPRESENTED the actions of a democratic president?

It sounds like partisan mud slinging to say that anything you hear from the right should be assumed to be false unless shown otherwise, but it is just the literal truth.

hillbillypharmacist: If you're going to propose something reasonable instead, then go for it.

I proposed four different solutions to be tried out alongside the status quo. That's not enough?

The administration has been cracking down on fraud with more and more success.

1) Medicare and Medicaid. The Medicare fee-for-service error rate fell from 9.1 percent in 2010 to 8.6 percent in 2011. Since 2009, the error rate has fallen more than 2 percentage points. The overall error rate for Medicare programs fell from 10.2 percent in 2010 to 8.6 percent in 2011. Since 2009, the error rate has fallen nearly 3.2 percentage points.

• Medicare fee-for-service avoided about $7 billion in payment errors.

• Medicare Part C avoided about $5 billion in payment errors.

• Medicare Part D reported a composite error rate for the first time, with an error rate of 3.2 percent, well below the government average.

• In addition, the error rate for Medicaid fell to 8.1 percent in 2011 from 9.4 percent in 2010, avoiding about $4 billion in payment errors since 2009.

Link (new window)

Thanks to provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA/ObamaCare) and to an unprecedented effort by the Obama Administration, more progress has been made in the past three years to combat health care fraud and abuse than ever before. There was a 68.9 percent increase in criminal health care fraud prosecutions from 2010 to 2011, and 2010 was already the highest ever.



Link (new window)

Gulper Eel: hillbillypharmacist: If you're going to propose something reasonable instead, then go for it.

I proposed four different solutions to be tried out alongside the status quo. That's not enough?

I feel bad for the assholes in those 10 states that get to play libertarian fantasy land. Free market healthcare for everyone! No pesky government assisterference!

So wait, Cato is asking for more government regulation of private business? Is this opposite day or something?

Gulper Eel: kingoomieiii: I'm suggesting that it's foolish to take this group's word about what the government is doing, because this particular group hates the government on it's best, most truthful day.

$60 billion a year flying out the door and not a finger lifted to do anything about it by any party in charge...200 bucks a year stolen from every man, woman and child in the country, before we even tackle fraud in every other area of federal spending...is ample reason to do so.

And it should be noted that unlike partisan-hack think tanks and the legislative and executive branches, Cato goes after defense waste with equal vigor.

Unfortunately reality does not reconcile with your narrative. Medicare fraud prosecutions were up 85% in 2011 thanks to provisions in Obamacare to eliminate fraud.

Gulper Eel: $60 billion a year flying out the door and not a finger lifted to do anything about it by any party in charge

DOJ posts record for Health Care Fraud Prosecutions = Not lifting a finger.

Another case of Fartbongo being just another empty suit ruining America with his socialism.

hillbillypharmacist: kingoomieiii: Who would? I'm suggesting that it's foolish to take this group's word about what the government is doing, because this particular group hates the government on it's best, most truthful day. That's like getting your news about gay culture from Rick Santorum.

Well, it doesn't really matter, because since government isn't perfect we have to scrap it and just have anarchy instead. Otherwise, there would be waste.

Except for the military. Military waste is unavoidable, but we can't do anything but give them more money.

mrshowrules: Medicare fraud prosecutions were up 85% in 2011 thanks to provisions in Obamacare to eliminate fraud.

Prosecutions after the money is long gone? Fat lot of good that does. The amount of money recovered is infinitesimal compared to what is stolen, and what little is recovered...goes back into the sieve that is the Medicare budget.

The idea is to have a system that prevents the money from being stolen in the first place, not a system that only snaps into action after the money's gone.

hitchking: You don't need to turn the US into some giant game show.

It's already a giant game show. Push the right billing-code buttons and Medicare cuts a check.

Gulper Eel: The idea is to have a system that prevents the money from being stolen in the first place

They're doing that too. From the link above.

Part of the effort involves hyper-charged efforts to catch bad guys through the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), and a bigger part involves re-engineering the system to keep them out. For example, prior to the ACA, if a bad guy got kicked out of one state Medicaid program for fraud, he got kicked out of one program; under the ACA, when he gets kicked out of one, and he gets kicked out of all them, including Medicare. That's smart, and that's just a tiny bit of what the ACA does on fraud & abuse.

But if your metric is no FWA whatsoever, at all, ever, I imagine you'll never be happy.

Dusk-You-n-Me: But if your metric is no FWA whatsoever, at all, ever, I imagine you'll never be happy.

What does kicking a crook out of the program accomplish, when it's so easy to re-enter under different fraudulent circumstances? The criminal operations who fleece Medicare already know to bail out and pop up elsewhere when the heat's on.

As for the larger providers who rip off the system through upcoding and so forth, I'd like to see a lot more of their executives in jail for that kind of shiat...but they have bought themselves enough legislators to ensure that won't ever happen.

ignatius_crumbcake: So wait, Cato is asking for more government regulation of private business? Is this opposite day or something?

how do you figure stealing public funding that every person in this country who draws a salary contributes to constitutes *private business*? hash out how you came up with that one for me if you don't mind.

Gulper Eel: What does kicking a crook out of the program accomplish, when it's so easy to re-enter under different fraudulent circumstances?

But it's not, thanks to ACA, as HotWingConspiracy noted. Read the paragraph.