0
comments
Monday, April 14, 2008
As baby boomers begin to retire, the faults of Medicare are beginning to be easily exposed. For years has been trying to control costs, not be rewarding and expecting efficient evidence based care, but by micromanaging, cutting reimbursement, and rewarding the over use of meds, imaging, and surgery. A great example of this is CMS' assertion that the arbitrayr cap on out patient PT services ONLY, is doing it's job and keeping costs down. Larry Benz over at Evidence in Motion does a fantastic job of outlining the fallacies in this claim. Basically, it's down becuase PT's are scared to death that we wil be punished for fully treating when needed (ie we bail on the pt once the cap is in sight).
In an article from MSNBC, a report from the National Academy of Sciences found:
It's easy for Medicare to pick on the group with the smallest voice. In the end, though, I believe it will lead to poor outcomes and a return back to inflating costs due to invasive procedures and imaging.
In an article from MSNBC, a report from the National Academy of Sciences found:
- There aren’t enough specialists in geriatric medicine.
- Insufficient training is available.
- The specialists that do exist are underpaid.
- Medicare fails to provide for team care that many elderly patients need.
It's easy for Medicare to pick on the group with the smallest voice. In the end, though, I believe it will lead to poor outcomes and a return back to inflating costs due to invasive procedures and imaging.
