By Jim Soviero
We are your neighbors and friends from Commack, Islip, Plainview and Riverhead...from all over Long Island. We have raised our children and managed elder care for our mothers and fathers. We know there are major changes coming to Medicare. All of us must prepare to protect ourselves and our parents from the reduced availability and choice of care the Congressional Budget Office predicts will come from this new law.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, mandates that doctor's fees be cut every year.
According to the 2010 Actuarial Report from the Department of Health and Human Services:
- "By 2019...Medicare rates would be relatively lower than those currently paid for Medicaid..." Page 5
- "...Medicare beneficiaries would almost certainly face increasingly severe problems with access to care." Page 5
- "This gap could jeopardize Medicare beneficiaries' access to mainstream medical care." Page 7
According to the 2011 Annual Report of the Medicare Board of Trustees:
- There is, "...a 29.4 reduction in physician fees that is scheduled for 2012." Page 31
- "Under the high cost assumptions....asset depletion (bankruptcy) would occur in 2016." Page 25
The bankruptcy date for Medicare is now one year sooner than the doomsday date given before the president's new law "fixed" the problem.
Don't believe those warm and fuzzy, taxpayer funded, TV and radio ads trying to sell us on Medicare changes we never wanted in the first place.
