The ultra-left-wing Medicare Rights Center, a front group for the Democratic Party, on May 15 outlined proposals to
"eliminate wasteful spending in Medicare and promote the delivery of high value, affordable health care."
Some are warmed-over Obama-administration ideas, some of which will actually make life worse for the low income seniors the lefties supposedly help. Other Medicare Rights Center ideas came from conservative healthcare wonks and were implemented long ago.
Its litany of ideas (with my commentary in bold):
- restoring drug rebates for low-income Medicare benefciaries ("Restores" millions of low-income seniors to the two-tier drug "market" that existed before the highly popular Medicare Part D was enacted; that's what lefties want because it puts them in charge of poor seniors' lives.)
- introducing a public Medicare drug benefit (Sure, who cares; no one in their right mind would buy it; but conservatives are all for choice, unlike the lefties.)
- maximizing the use of generic prescription drugs (This has been happening for 20 years; so much for the Medicare Rights Center's brilliant new idea. But it will hurt those low-income seniors that need brand-name drugs because the generics won't work for them. What it will actually mean is that poor seniors will have to write their Democratic congressman to get the drugs they need, which is the way the lefties want the drug system to work.)
- creating a public Medicare supplement; (Sure, who cares; no one in their right mind would buy it; but conservaties are all for choice, unlike the lefties. And how could it possibly be any different than what we have now?)
- eliminating wasteful overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans (That was done already in 2010 except for the "overpayments" that go to the rural and urban poor; again the lefties are harming the people they supposedly help.)
- expanding the competitive bidding program (Conservatives are all for it; that's another idea that conservatives proposed years ago and it is working great. It's the secret behind Medicare Parts C and D.)
- advancing innovative delivery and payment system reforms (Again, this is why Part C is so successful. How stupid are these lefties to even suggest it's something new?)