Pitfall #1: Robbing
Peter to Pay Paul
ObamaCare essentially "robs Peter to pay Paul."
How? Well, if you're a senior, you'll be fleeced by the $716 billion in
Medicare cuts designed to substantially fund the ObamaCare plan over the next
decade.
The president’s healthcare law does reduce future spending
on Medicare, but Obama claims that those savings are obtained by reducing fraud
levels and reducing federal payments to insurance companies, hospitals and
other providers, and do not affect benefits for people in the Medicare program.
When President Obama claims that these actions do not affect
benefits – he MAY be telling the truth; but only if we can assume or have
confidence that doctors will continue to participate in Medicare as a
healthcare provider.
While attending a Healthcare Finance Conference last month I
learned more about the real problem here. We now know that doctors and even
some local medical clinics who accept Medicare either have already stopped
participating in Medicare; or they are seriously considering doing so. I have
held conversations over the last year with C-Suite and Executive level
healthcare leaders; who are saying they may very well be forced to stop participating
in Medicare in order to keep their doors open. Their primary goal is to provide
quality and accessible care to their local community. They cannot achieve that
goal or even keep their doors open if they go bankrupt. Please note that
existing Medicare rules LIMIT the additional costs either for services that are
not covered by Medicare or service fee amounts left over after Medicare pays
the doctor. These limits do not allow doctors and hospitals to pass such costs
along to a senior who is dependent on Medicare. Prior to Obamacare passage –
doctors and providers already lose money on Medicare covered services; but try
to make up those losses through patient services they bill through private
insurance companies such as United Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield, etc. Now
however, as more and more patients are moved into the insurance exchanges –
this will drive down the number of dollars that doctors and hospitals take in
through private insurance companies as the ‘New Obamacare Rules’ are
implemented.
Armies of accountants and patient finance professionals have
combed through the 2,700 pages of confusing rules in Obamacare; crunched the
numbers and now are more confident that they may have to simply opt-out of Medicare.
This leads to one simple conclusion. When Obama says that
services for seniors will not be affected under his plan; he is either simply
wrong because he is misinformed. Or, he knew this all along and moved forward
with the plan anyway. In either case – it is a colossal mistake - that will affect seniors!
Pitfall #2: Insurance
Companies Free to Pass on Increased Costs
Under the new ObamaCare mandates, insurance companies will
have free rein to pass on their increased costs to you in the form of:
Higher premiums
Higher co-pays
Higher deductibles
There are no specific price controls to keep the insurance
industry in check. Even AARP, the powerful lobby representing American seniors,
has already increased the health insurance premiums taken from its employee’s paychecks
from 8% to 13% depending on which employee plan they have signed up for.
Healthcare professionals who have combed through the 2,7000
pages of the legislation have said that
this increased costs to employees and their families will only escalate as the
law is further implemented from 2013 to 2015.
Pitfall #3: Widespread
Doctor Shortage Expected
While many Americans are unhappy with ObamaCare, doctors
have been particularly angry. Why? Because the earning potential of doctors is
expected to dwindle due to lowered payment rates for Medicare, among other
things. (See Pitfall #1 above). Up to 40% of physicians could retire or seek a
non-clinical or even a non-medical job.
And with 30 million more Americans on healthcare insurance
plans, not only could there be a medical "brain drain," but also long
drives and long waits to see a doctor. This is precisely what happened in
Canada the UK with socialized medicine. Sure, we can argue that Obamacare is
not socialized medicine – that fine. What I am saying here is that the outcomes
of Obamacare will have the same effect in access to patient care that we have
already seen in Canada and the UK. EXAMPLE, I and my mother-in-law have both
been referred for a MRI in the last 24 months. I each case; our primary doctor
made the referral appointment and we had the MRI completed within 48 hours. In
Canada, if your primary doctor refers a patient for an MRI – the wait time is
between 3 and 6 months. Access to care is ‘prioritized’ by bureaucrats because
their system has forced them to. Delayed services and rationed care is a
natural outcome or consequence of such mandated systems; the same bureaucracies
and controls as have been introduced under Obamacare.
By the Way – this
is one of the primary examples of how Healthcare Reform in Massachusetts under
Romney is completely different than Obamacare. There is no governing board of
bureaucrats working for the state that controls systems, costs and access. It
is controlled by the Private Market comprised of hospitals, doctors, insurance
companies, equipment companies, pharmaceuticals, etc. – using innovation,
competition and free enterprise creativity to improve care and drive down
costs.
Pitfall #4:
Delayed Implementation and Hundreds of Unwritten Rules
Shockingly, many of the rules and regulations needed to make
the new Obama healthcare system function correctly haven't even been written
yet. And for all the details outlined above - costs will inevitably balloon
higher than expected; benefits for consumers are likely to degrade
significantly, particularly for seniors, the biggest users of healthcare
services.
Pitfall #5: Unelected
Government Officials Will Have Total Control to Make Decisions about Your
Healthcare
"Healthcare commissars" who don't have to worry
about being elected by the American people will have undemocratic, totalitarian
powers to cut Medicare spending and make decisions on your behalf as a
so-called Independent Payment Advisory Board. This is basically the same
bureaucratic system that is in place in Canada and the UK (as outlined above).
Healthcare Professionals I have grown to know and respect in
my professional endeavors are already scrambling to figure out how to mitigate
the damage and navigate the coming storm. They are educated, experienced and
wise enough to know what is coming and prepare. Unfortunately, now that we have
completely politicized healthcare in our country; the future of healthcare for
our citizens is in jeopardy.
From a political stand-point many of us are happy that it
has become a national issue. Even conservatives wanted and still want to have a
national discussion about how to reform healthcare. Most of us agree on
protections for patients with pre-existing conditions, or being able to extend
benefits to children in college up to an age of 26, etc., etc.
That being said – the solution that has been passed within
Obamacare is no real solution. It is already demonstrably making things worse
for Americans; strictly from the subject of healthcare. This does not even
begin to touch on the indirect effects of Obamacare; such as how it has already
diminished business expansion and the hiring of new employees by companies
nationwide during a terrible recession. I personally know of many company
owners who are having their accountants calculate if it is worth it to grow
their companies more than a certain number of employees. Many are coming to the
conclusion that it is cost prohibitive; so they will simply maintain the status
quo and not hire anymore people.
More to share later.
NOTES
How ObamaCareWill Affect Your Doctor - Expect longer waits for appointments as physiciansget pinched on reimbursements. (WSJ May 12, 2009).
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