The so-called ”Misery Index” is back and is rivaling that of Carter Administration. Gearing up for his reelection effort, President Obama’s approval ratings are hovering near their lowest points during is presidency. Add to this the fallout from Obamacare, and things aren’t looking good for him or the country.
As Obamacare implementation marches forward, the focus has been on Medicare. But we should not forget about Medicaid, which is another threat from Obama’s signature law.
Let’s take a look at two scenarios for Medicaid as Obamacare rolls over the country.
Medicaid Scenario I
One very dismal forecast shows that by 2014 most employees will lose their private Employee Sponsored Insurance. Faced with rising costs, many of employers will have no choice but to abandon employer-based health insurance, opting instead to pay the $2,000 penalty as mandated under Obamacare.
By choosing to pay penalties over providing benefits, employers will save thousands of dollars while unfortunately driving their employees into the welcoming arms of the government. Unable to pay the skyrocketing health insurance premiums, the only option available is the government-run health insurance, or Medicaid. Individuals will have to endure “least common denominator” health care quality while both federal and state governments will struggle to manage the growing financial strain.
Medicaid Scenario 2
The Democrats attacked Paul Ryan’s plan to save Medicare by privatizing it with select options. However these same Democrats are creating a scenario that threatens both Medicare and Medicaid. Key to this is the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) as mandated in Obamacare. This controversial provision, effective in 2015, creates a 15-member panel to be appointed by the President and accountable to the Department of Health and Human Services. Note that Congress abdicated their oversight role, essentially creating 15 health care Czars!
The structure of our new health care system: Obamacare
IPAB will be responsible for decreasing Medicare spending by slashing reimbursements to health care providers. The result will be Medicare reimbursement rates that are lower than Medicaid rates. If doctors today are turning away Medicare patients because of lower reimbursement rates, I predict that soon with the fallout from the IPAB, doctors will not take any Medicare patients.
It is predicted that by 2015 there will be a mandatory requirement for all Nurse Practitioners to have a Doctorate/Nurse Practitioner Degree. The DNP will most likely be the sole prescriber and the one treating patients. A perfect storm is brewing to create a crisis-level health provider shortage as we shove more and more people into Medicaid while health providers run away.
And what about “RyanCare”, Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan to save Medicare? RyanCare proposes to empower seniors to make decisions to control their Medicare dollars and save the Medicare system by controlling costs and avoiding a mass exodus to Medicaid. Democrats don’t want you to have such a say and would rather empower an unaccountable committee of 15 to apply rationing measures and drive seniors to Medicaid with almost no access to doctors.
If this were a multiple-choice test, I would choose RyanCare over Obamacare and the Democrat’s unaccountable decision-making panels any day.