Can't Have it Both Ways on Medicare

Des Moines Register
April 19, 2011

Medicare insures about 50 million seniors and disabled people. That's roughly one-sixth of the population. Much debate in Washington is over how to control costs and pay for the entitlement going forward. Yet Rep. Tom Latham is sponsoring legislation to ensure Medicare pays for stays in nursing homes when patients are transferred from a hospital. Right now, seniors may have to pick up the cost. The Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2011 is endorsed by just about everyone.

It's another example of lawmakers trying to have it both ways: giving to seniors with one hand and cutting with the other...

It means rationing care by not paying for certain procedures or drugs at all. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing. According to a 2008 report by the New England Healthcare Institute, as much as $850 billion spent on medical care each year could be eliminated without reducing the quality of care. Americans undergo more scans (think MRIs and X-rays) than people in any other country - scans that have been linked to increased rates of cancer. Meanwhile, our life expectancy is shorter than in other industrialized countries.

Link to Full Article: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110420/OPINION03/104200332/1001/…