Health Care Reform, Obama Style

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By Stephen Lendman (about the author) Page 1 of 8 page(s)

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Health Care Reform, Obama Style - by Stephen Lendman

On February 26, The New York Times headlined: "Obama Offers Broad Plan to Revamp Health Care....a (down payment $634 billion "reserve fund" for the next decade) toward his goal of covering the uninsured, and he would pay for it in part by cutting federal payments to hospitals, insurance companies and drug companies." More on that below.

Details so far are sketchy, but here's what The Times and others reported:

-- $634 billion as a "down payment....additional funding will be needed;"

-- increased prescription drug premiums for higher income Medicare recipients;

-- $6 billion for cancer research to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), up from last year's $5.6 billion;

-- faster FDA generic biotech drug approvals;

-- increased access to family planning services for low-income women on Medicaid;

-- no information on how the uninsured will be covered with details to be worked out later with Congress; one idea is make it mandatory, but tell that to people who can't afford it or enough of it;

-- drug makers to be required to give Medicaid at least a 22.1% discount, up from the current 15.1%;

-- payment cuts to insurers, hospitals, drug makers, home health agencies, and perhaps doctors;

-- "rebalancing the tax code so that the wealthiest pay more," but not enough;

-- the goal is reduce costs and achieve "universal coverage;" saying it is one thing, achieving it another;

-- eliminating subsidies paid to insurers selling Medicare Advantage plans and opening the process to competitive bidding; and

-- in introducing Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius as HHS secretary and Nancy-Ann DeParle as White House Health Reform director, Obama proposed "affordable health care for every American" while acknowledging no "silver bullet" exists to provide it, but he'll be "flexible" to achieve it, or at least say he is while intending to do nothing to offend a powerful industry.

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I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.

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