A key senator said that a deal struck between the hospital lobby and the White House would need to be dissolved before a measure to expand Medicare enrollment—now being negotiated as part of a health reform package—moves forward.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), part of a group of five progressives and five moderates who are hammering out a replacement for a public insurance option, said he would try to break up the
10-year, $155 billion deal that shields hospitals from the financial decisions made by a new independent Medicare advisory commission.
Rockefeller said that the hospital deal, coupled with others made with a variety of provider groups, account for roughly 60% of Medicare spending.
“So that part of Medicare has been carved out in what I would call secret deals, and I don't want to see” those last, he said.
Lawmakers are considering a measure that would allow those aged 55 to 64 to buy into the Medicare program, which typically is available for those who are 65 or older. The provision would be part of other components that would then be packaged as an alternative to the public option now in the Senate's bill.
Both the Federation of American Hospitals and the American Hospital Association called on their members to help defeat the measure.
“Adding millions of people to these programs at a time when they already severely underfund hospitals is unwise and should be opposed,” the American Hospital Association said in an e-mailed membership letter.
But Rockefeller said he was unmoved, adding that he would continue to try to overturn the deal through a series of amendments even if hospitals threatened to try to kill legislation.
“And my sort of philosophy on that is, we're far enough down the road that if they start doing that, the relationship between the carve-out and” the providers “would become so clear that it won't be flattering to them. And I'll make sure it isn't.”
What do you think? Post a comment on this article and share your opinion with other readers. Submit your comments to Modern Healthcare Online at
mheditorial@modernhealthcare.com. Please be sure to include your hometown and state, along with your organization and title.
