Medicare cuts could endanger the most vulnerable, OPED by Barby Ingle, Scottsdale Republic (AZ Republic)
August 19, 2011 at 12:11pm
It’s concerning to hear that the federal government is willing to sacrifice the well being of our nation’s most vulnerable populations in its quest to reduce the federal deficit.
Among the programs under siege is Medicare, a program relied upon by millions of patients, particularly seniors, low-income minority families, and people with disabilities, often with chronic conditions.
As people who are impacted by chronic conditions, the talk is unsettling.
Spending cuts and changes to Medicare will have negative impacts on patient care, access to care, and even medical innovation.
Slashing funds for this important program only serve to ‘ration’ patient care and to snuff out medical innovations that have the power to save lives and improve the quality of life for people who either face a one-time medical catastrophe or live with chronic diseases.
The Congressional Budget Office has projected that certain Medicare proposals introduced this year would double out-of-pocket healthcare costs for patients, increasing costs more than $12,510 a year.
Such a move will reduce patient access to providers and affordable quality medicines.
Further, experts at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have shared concern that healthcare providers might leave the Medicare program as result of drastic spending cuts, which would limit choice of necessary treatments and lower quality of care for seniors in Medicare.
That means that ultimately Medicare patients will pay more for less care and less choice of doctors.
All of this comes on the coat tails of the creation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, known more widely as
the IPAB— one of the most controversial efforts to cut spending in Medicare and created as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to make Medicare cuts every year in order to meet annual required savings targets.
IPAB has the power to decide that Medicare will not cover certain treatments or medications, and to dramatically cut payments to health care providers and physicians providing services to Medicare patients.
More troubling is that the IPAB is an unelected board that will operate with little accountability or oversight from Congress. IPAB will not be subject to oversight from the Federal courts or the Department of Health and Human Services.
For patients who are waiting for or could benefit from medical advancements, the IPAB ultimately has the potential to penalize new medical technology by focusing only on short term costs savings instead of the value of medical advances.
As a result, treatments and medications that are new or rare, such as new medicines to treat or prevent conditions like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and cancer, may be particularly likely to face restrictions, even though such technologies are critical for patient care.
All of these actions combined are creating a volatile, even hostile environment for patients. These trends don’t bode well for anyone, especially the patients who need care the most. Make your concerns about Medicare cuts and IPAB known by calling your congressional representative today.
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