Idaho Statesman Logo

How debt deal's panel could affect health spending | Idaho Statesman

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Archives
    • Buy Photos and Pages
    • Contact Us
    • Newsletters
    • Newspaper in Education
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Services

    • News
    • Boise
    • West Ada
    • Canyon County
    • Crime
    • State News
    • Nation/World News
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Idahoans in the Military
    • Weather
    • Traffic
    • Helping Works
    • In the Classroom
    • Our Community
    • Sports
    • Boise State Football
    • Boise State Basketball
    • Idaho Vandals
    • High Schools
    • Bronco Beat
    • Chadd Cripe
    • Varsity Extra Blog
    • NFL
    • NBA
    • NHL
    • MLB
    • Golf
    • Idaho Politics
    • Elections
    • Government and Business
    • Capitol & State
    • Letters from the West
    • National Politics
    • Business
    • Business Insider
    • Business Columns & Blogs
    • Personal Finance
    • Legal Notices
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Bill Manny
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Guest Opinion
    • Submit a Letter or Opinion
    • Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Arts and Culture
    • Festivals
    • Movie Reviews
    • Movie Showtimes
    • Music
    • Television
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Horoscopes
    • Puzzles
    • Words & Deeds
    • ArtsBeat
    • Outdoors
    • Playing Outdoors Blog
    • Biking
    • Camping
    • Fishing
    • Hiking and Trails
    • Hunting
    • Winter Recreation
    • Living
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Treasure
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Best of Treasure Valley
    • Heart of the Treasure Valley
    • Margaret Lauterbach
    • Tim Woodward
    • Carolyn Hax
  • Obituaries

  • Contests
  • Advertise
  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Place An Ad

  • About Us
  • Mobile & Apps

News

How debt deal's panel could affect health spending

Mary Agnes Carey and Phil Galewitz - Kaiser Health News

    ORDER REPRINT →

August 04, 2011 03:44 PM

WASHINGTON — The deal that President Barack Obama and Congress struck this week to raise the nation's debt ceiling calls for creating a 12-member commission made up of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats selected from the House of Representatives and the Senate that will recommend how to trim at least $1.2 trillion in federal spending over the next decade.

Here's a guide to how the panel's deliberations could influence Medicare and Medicaid.

Q. Aren't Medicare and Medicaid protected from cuts right now?

A. Yes — and no. The debt deal itself made $917 billion in discretionary spending reductions during the next decade, and exempted Medicare and Medicaid. But the programs aren't protected in the next round of cuts.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Q. Won't deep differences between the parties over entitlements and taxes prevent the panel from reaching any agreement?

A. With Democrats likely to insist on tax increases and Republicans sure to seek entitlement cuts, agreement will be difficult. Stan Collender, a partner at Qorvis Communications and a former congressional budget staffer, said there was less than a 5 percent chance that the committee would come to an agreement that Congress would approve.

But if Congress doesn't agree on a debt plan, the debt-ceiling law triggers automatic cuts, including a 2 percent reduction in Medicare payments to hospitals and other providers. The trigger wouldn't touch Medicaid funding.

Q. There have been plenty of commissions that have worked on debt reduction. What makes this one different?

A. The threat of automatic, across-the-board spending cuts is what gives the debt panel more clout than its predecessors had. Many lawmakers dislike the idea of surrendering any power over the federal purse, especially when it could mean that spending on a favorite program could be at risk.

Q. What might the committee look at?

A. Among some of the alternatives that are expected to be considered are Medicare premium supports, which would give enrollees vouchers or credit to purchase private insurance plans rather than having the government directly pay for covered services; converting Medicaid to a block grant program, which also would limit federal funding; or asking higher-income Medicare beneficiaries to pay more for their coverage. Changes in spending for the 2010 health care overhaul also may be considered.

Bob Crittenden, the executive director of the Herndon Alliance, a liberal health care advocacy group, said Medicaid was most at risk in the committee because the group was unlikely to agree on cuts to Medicare or Social Security.

Q. Why are Medicare and Medicaid part of the debt discussions?

A. Medicare and Medicaid make up about 23 percent of federal spending and their costs have been growing faster than the economy overall has. Medicare costs have climbed partly because of the aging population, which has meant that more people are eligible for coverage. Medicaid costs increased with the recent economic downturn, which led to dramatic uptick in enrollment as people lost jobs and private health coverage.

Q. What do doctors and hospitals say about the cuts proposed as part of the automatic trigger?

A. Medicare providers say the reductions would hurt their ability to deliver medical care and that they'd mean less access to care for seniors. "If it affects providers, it affects beneficiaries," said Chip Kahn, the president and chief executive officer of the Federation of American Hospitals.

Q. How does a "fix" to Medicare's doctor payments figure into the issues the committee faces?

A. At the end of the year, Medicare is scheduled to cut pay to physicians by about 30 percent because of a budget rule adopted years ago. Since 2003, Congress has granted an extension each time the requirement has come due. Some analysts argue that the debt reduction efforts and the need to fix the doctor reimbursement formula could collide, especially because of the cost of fixing doctor pay. Pushing the issue off for another year would cost about $25 billion, although doctors have been pressing for a two-year fix at a cost of roughly $50 billion. These fixes would add to the nation's budget deficit and complicate the committee's work.

(Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent news service of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy organization that isn't affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.)

MORE FROM KAISER HEALTH NEWS

Coverage of the nation's health-care debate

MORE FROM MCCLATCHY

Kaiser Health News on McClatchy

Report: Health care law has limited impact on spending

Debt debate over, Congress girds for battle on tax hikes

Who gains from debt deal? The Pentagon, for one

Follow McClatchy on Twitter.

  Comments  

Videos

Tim Eyman under investigation in theft of chair from Lacey Office Depot

Washington music teacher sings ‘Snow Day’ after classes are called off -- again

View More Video

Trending Stories

Farmers market to leave heart of Downtown Boise. Here’s where it’s going, and why

February 15, 2019 04:13 PM

4 Boise teens arrested, arraigned for suspected rape of 18-year-old

February 15, 2019 11:10 AM

Gene Simmons surprises Idaho’s biggest KISS fan (while he’s working at Arctic Circle)

February 15, 2019 04:34 PM

Idaho taxpayers’ tab for lawsuits just grew another $1.8M, up to more than $5M since 2012

February 15, 2019 08:48 AM

Big subdivisions in Nampa and Kuna. Apartments in Boise. See what’s coming near you

February 15, 2019 11:05 AM

Read Next

Police: Aurora attacker used gun he shouldn’t have owned

Business

Police: Aurora attacker used gun he shouldn’t have owned

By DON BABWIN and CARYN ROUSSEAU Associated Press

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 16, 2019 04:42 PM

The man who killed five co-workers at a suburban Chicago manufacturing plant took a gun he wasn't allowed to have to a job he must have known he was about to lose.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE NEWS

The Latest: CEO: Gunman passed background check when hired

Business

The Latest: CEO: Gunman passed background check when hired

February 16, 2019 04:05 PM
Military planes carrying 180 tons of aid for Venezuelans fly from Miami to Colombia

World

Military planes carrying 180 tons of aid for Venezuelans fly from Miami to Colombia

February 16, 2019 06:00 AM
Vatican defrocks former US cardinal McCarrick for sex abuse

Nation & World

Vatican defrocks former US cardinal McCarrick for sex abuse

February 16, 2019 02:13 PM

Business

Correction: Lithium Ion Batteries-Recycling story

February 16, 2019 08:12 AM
The Latest: Boston’s Jayson Tatum wins skills competition

Business

The Latest: Boston’s Jayson Tatum wins skills competition

February 16, 2019 06:44 PM

National

Chicago police want to question ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett after releasing 2 brothers

February 16, 2019 01:00 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Idaho Statesman App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Archives
Advertising
  • Information
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • Place an Obituary
  • Today's Circulars
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story