Medicare overpays again
A US Inspector General has reported that Medicare overpays almost $1000 on every wheelchair that they rent rather than purchase. The idea behind the Medicare program is that the disabled will have someone to go back to if there is a problem with their chair and that the repairs will be included with their monthly payment. However the costs do not pan out and it is not economical to rent the wheelchairs. Medicare ended up paying suppliers $2970 for services that suppliers paid $1048. These overpayments cost Medicare $686 million for the first half of the year. There is no system in place that allows Medicare to pick the lowest supplier of powered wheelchairs so they end up paying much more than they should. This is on top of the rental costs of the wheelchairs that are almost four times what it would cost to purchase the equipment directly. There are no bills in congress to deal with this issue which is costing tax payers much more then they have to. (Source: UPI)
Americans are used to dramatically overpaying for equipment and services for some time. The all time classic was the military spending over $1000 for a hammer that anyone could purchase at the corner hardware store. It is sad that government contracts allow this type of insanity to continue, but many parts of congress do not have rules to purchase from the lowest bidder or to even try and negotiate with the supplier. It is bad enough when the military buys things that they can get cheaper, but Medicare is costing a fortune as it is so any savings would be helpful. If we are to get a handle on Medicare and Medicaid costs, then we need to start here. There is no reason to overpay on items merely because the government is used to doing business with a particular company. There is no way that we can keep overpaying on medical care and expect our tax structure to keep up with the increases.
All of us have a stake in making medicare care in this country affordable and safe. Doctors need to be able to order procedures and drugs without having to worry about what will be paid and what will not be. No one’s health ca be tied to a price tag and no one should have to worry that someone else will decide whether they will be healed or nor. As is stands now under Medicare Part D, insurance companies can decide what drugs to cover and which they don’t. If you pick a company that covers what you are taking now but get sick, you may not be able to get the drugs you need. This is especially true of expensive drugs that do not have a generic to purchase. Powerful pain drugs like Actiq are not covered so if you have chronic pain there may be no drugs you can take that are covered. So you get to suffer because of bureaucratic red tape. This needs to stop. There is no reason why a drug a doctor prescribes is not made available and covered by insurance. Unless this is fixed we will have a group of have and have nots. WHile that is bad enough in schools, it ks inexcusable for medical care.
Everyone deserves the best that we can properly afford. Please contact your congressman and senators to let them know what you think about this. The new bill going through congress will never be the best it can be unless we all participate and let everyone know what we need. Democracies are not spectator sports. If we don’t participate, don’t complain about what happens with the new Medicare changes.
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