Posted on 04/04/2013 10:54:15 AM PDT by illiac
Cancer clinics across the country have begun turning away thousands of Medicare patients, blaming the sequester budget cuts.
Oncologists say the reduced funding, which took effect for Medicare on April 1, makes it impossible to administer expensive chemotherapy drugs while staying afloat financially.
Patients at these clinics would need to seek treatment elsewhere, such as at hospitals that might not have the capacity to accommodate them.
“If we treated the patients receiving the most expensive drugs, we’d be out of business in six months to a year,” said Jeff Vacirca, chief executive of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates in New York. “The drugs we’re going to lose money on we’re not going to administer right now.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Liars. Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security were not included in the sequester.
Besides, if it were true, blame it on Obama. The sequester was his idea.
Republicans need to make a pre-emptive strike against the DemocRATS and make sure the ownership falls on the left, and with Obamacare. They CANNOT bend over and let BO assign the blame to them.
Most of those Medicare patients are just racist white folks anyway.
Besides, we need to make room for the new anti-American Americans who broke Federal law coming in from the south.
Legislators meant to partially shield Medicare from the automatic budget cuts triggered by the sequester, limiting the program to a 2 percent reduction — a fraction of the cuts seen by other federal programs.
But oncologists say the cut is unexpectedly damaging for cancer patients because of the way those treatments are covered.
Medications for seniors are usually covered under the optional Medicare Part D, which includes private insurance. But because cancer drugs must be administered by a physician, they are among a handful of pharmaceuticals paid for by Part B, which covers doctor visits and is subject to the sequester cut.
The federal government typically pays community oncologists for the average sales price of a chemotherapy drug, plus 6 percent to cover the cost of storing and administering the medication.
Since oncologists cannot change the drug prices, they argue that the entire 2 percent cut will have to come out of that 6 percent overhead. That would make it more akin to a double-digit pay cut.
Obamanation Counterculture File.
Right... like they stood up for Government Accountability for Fast & Furious?
Obomination begins...Americans die...
My brother died of cancer. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
Still, I’d like to know what makes anyone think that someone else should have to pay for their treatment. Obviously, these treatments are not self-sustaining in cost. They need the unending flow of stolen dollars, perhaps because they have not had to learn how to run a business without it.
The ads for Cancer Treatment Centers of America seem fishy to me. They seem like one of these parasite companies that is only in business for the Medicare dollar. If they go out of business, that will probably be a good thing.
I slipped in the shower this morning... you know why?
yep ...Sequester
Medicare or Medicaid? It was my understanding that, miserly as Medicare payments were, Medicaid was much worse.
Well, today when you pay for your own treatment, you can't help but pay for the treatment of three or four others. So, you have to be in a payment club, or else they hit you with extortionate charges.
In a sane world, I'd agree with you, though.
From the Washington Post
I talked to a woman at a party who is a “health care consultant”.
(basically a MBA type who consults with hospitals)
She told me that only 3 to 7 percent of uninsured bills get paid, the rest is written off and “spread” across insured payments.
this is true. Excellent point
SS and Medicare were NOT part of the sequestor
this from the AARP site Q&A
“
So here’s what you should know:
I’m on Medicare. What happens to my benefits?
Good news. No change in Medicare benefits, including Part D low-income premium and cost-sharing subsidies and catastrophic subsidy payments.
oh shoot...I took more than 6 Sequesters in a 24 hour period...should I induce vomiting?
I believe that. The whole system is set up with the big payers getting discounts, even though they are now the true market. In order to have these pretended discounts, the hospitals lie in wait for that rare uninsured party who also has some net worth, and attempt to loot him mercilessly with quintuple charges and the proverbial $50 aspiring.
It's exactly this sort of predatory behavior that government is supposed to contain, but in the medical field, it not only doesn't do that, but it is the source and cause of much of it.
According to Rush this a.m., this is all BS! If it is happening, it’s because those running the “clinics” are trying to help Obamacare.
Read post 5 above, which includes the quote: "cancer drugs . . . are among a handful of pharmaceuticals paid for by Part B, which covers doctor visits and is subject to the sequester cut."
Wow, it all that happens when 2% of the budget it cut, what happens when the US Dollar collapses and/or the Gov’t is bankrupt?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.