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Bush planning $91 billion in Medicare cuts?

By Larry Lipman | Thursday, January 31, 2008, 04:01 PM

Reports that President Bush is again planning to call for tens of billions of dollars worth of Medicare cuts has drawn fire from a key House leader.

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Bush’s budget, scheduled to be released Monday, will call for a $6 billion cut in projected Medicare spending next year and $91 billion over five years, according to a story in today’s New York Times.

Last year, Bush proposed cutting Medicare by $4 billion and $65.6 billion over five years. Those cuts were not adopted by Congress.

“This budget will be dead on arrival,” said Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., chairman of the House Ways and Means’ health subcommittee.

Bush’s budget is expected to call for $83 billion in cuts to hospitals with the remainder coming from other health care providers. The hospital cuts would include:

  • A $15 billion across-the-board reduction in hospital payments

  • A $25 billion reduction in payments to hospitals that serve a disproportionately large number of low-income patients

  • $23 billion less for training hospitals

  • $20 billion less for hospital construction and equipment.

    Stark said Bush’s budget “would endanger the health care of America’s seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income children. We’ve known for years that his ‘compassionate conservatism’ was simply a slogan. These proposed cuts show his single-minded focus on starving popular and effective public programs, while protecting fat-cat insurance companies that are overpaid with taxpayer dollars.”

    Stark noted that Bush does not plan to reduce payments to private managed care plans under the Medicare Advantage program. The nonpartisan Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has reported that Medicare Advantage plans are paid 12 percent more, on average, than the cost of traditional fee-for-service care.

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    Commenting is now closed for this entry.

    By YEE

    February 1, 2008 3:14 AM | Link to this

    The Bush-Cheney regime is showing its true Republican colors. You voted for them in 2000 and 2004? Too bad, Sucker. .

    By George Kelley

    February 1, 2008 8:36 AM | Link to this

    Thank God we only have 1 more year of his nonsense, he has been the worst president we have ever had, ever since he came into office the price of utilities and the price of gas, oil & gasoline have skyrocketed through the roof, I say enough is enough, can’t wait for him to leave office, he’ll never resign, that’s my thoughts.

    By George Kelley

    February 1, 2008 8:36 AM | Link to this

    Thank God we only have 1 more year of his nonsense, he has been the worst president we have ever had, ever since he came into office the price of utilities and the price of gas, oil & gasoline have skyrocketed through the roof, I say enough is enough, can’t wait for him to leave office, he’ll never resign, that’s my thoughts.

    By George Kelley

    February 1, 2008 8:36 AM | Link to this

    Thank God we only have 1 more year of his nonsense, he has been the worst president we have ever had, ever since he came into office the price of utilities and the price of gas, oil & gasoline have skyrocketed through the roof, I say enough is enough, can’t wait for him to leave office, he’ll never resign, that’s my thoughts.

    By lester f lasa

    February 10, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this

    we go to a useless war then to get us out of dept you propose cutting for thr truly needed in this country , glad you are leaving office

    By lester f lasa

    February 10, 2008 9:56 AM | Link to this

    we go to a useless war then to get us out of dept you propose cutting for thr truly needed in this country , glad you are leaving office