1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

With Medicare Gag Order-Democrats Desperate to Hide Truth

Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by carpro, Sep 29, 2009.

  1. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2004
    Messages:
    25,823
    Likes Received:
    1,167
    Faith:
    Baptist
    http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/54687

    Medicare ‘Gag Order’ A Sign That Obama, Democrats Are Desperate on Health Care, Republican Leader Says
    Tuesday, September 29, 2009

    (CNSNews.com) – Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the recent gag order imposed by Medicare on insurance companies participating in its Advantage program shows that President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are desperate to pass their health care overhaul legislation.

    McConnell, speaking on a conference call Monday, said the Medicare gag order showed that Democrats are "willing to employ any tactic to try to quiet the voices of dissent." McConnell said their "desperation" is illustrated by the way Democrats are trying to "shut up critics of the bill.”

    McConnell was referring to a Sept. 21 statement released by the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – a division of the Department of Health and Human Services – directing companies that participate in the Medicare Advantage program to cease all communication with beneficiaries dealing with the administration’s planned cuts to the Advantage program.

    SNIP

    McConnell called the government’s actions a “gag order” and a “violation of the First Amendment,” saying it was obvious that the administration did not want seniors to know the truth about health care reform.
     
  2. alatide

    alatide New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2009
    Messages:
    974
    Likes Received:
    0
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32991346/ns/health-health_care/

    Let's look at the truth.

    Medicare Advantage plans provide benefits, such as vision and dental care, which go beyond those covered under the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program. Private insurers contract with the federal government to provide the plans, and they offer the extras as perks to entice patients to choose their programs instead of regular Medicare.

    But the non-partisan Medicare Payment Advisory Commission told Congress that such services cost too much, with Medicare Advantage payments per enrollee 14 percent higher than traditional Medicare.

    The commission said that this year the government will pay about $12 billion more for enrollees of Medicare Advantage plans than it would if they were in fee-for-service Medicare.

    Who's who in the health care debate
    A look at the key players shaping the national debate over health care — including the legislators and policymakers at the center of it all.

    “These excessive payments encourage inefficient plans to enter the program, further raising the costs to Medicare,” the commission reported last June.
     
  3. targus

    targus New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2008
    Messages:
    8,459
    Likes Received:
    0
    So the fact that an optional plan costs more than the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission thinks that it delivers in value is justification for the government to deny free speech?
     
  4. alatide

    alatide New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2009
    Messages:
    974
    Likes Received:
    0
    I'm simply revealing information about the plan. I don't know what Humana was telling its customers. If they were telling the truth they should be allowed to do so. If they were telling lies because this affects their bottom line then those lies should be stopped.
     
  5. targus

    targus New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2008
    Messages:
    8,459
    Likes Received:
    0
    Rather than straying off topic in an attempt to justify government censureship why not find out the facts of the issue?

    Your questions are answered in the OP.

    If you had bothered to read the article before jumping in you would have better knowledge of what you are talking about.

    "That order was instigated by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) after he discovered that insurance giant Humana, which is headquartered in McConnell’s home state of Kentucky, had sent its Medicare Advantage customers a mailing that warned them of the possible benefit reductions that might occur if the program’s funding were cut.

    Baucus called the Humana mailing “false,” while the CMS said it was “misleading” and “confusing.” However, the director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Douglas Elmendorf, testified before Baucus’ Senate Finance Committee that, in fact, the administration’s planned cuts to Medicare Advantage would result in seniors losing “more than half” of the added benefits they receive from the privately run program. "

    Humana was telling their customers the truth.

    Of course the Democrats can have none of that.
     
  6. alatide

    alatide New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2009
    Messages:
    974
    Likes Received:
    0
    You say find out the facts but somehow the facts don't include information about the Medicare option whose funding might be cut? That's the topic of the OP. Oh, I suppose anything other than bashing the current administration is off topic. Sorry Charlie. You don't run this board although it is significantly dominated by people who (don't) think like you.
     
  7. targus

    targus New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2008
    Messages:
    8,459
    Likes Received:
    0
    Actually, that is NOT the topic.

    The topic is the gag order put on insurance companies by the government in order to shut down dissent.

    Reading is fundamental. :smilewinkgrin:
     
  8. just-want-peace

    just-want-peace Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 3, 2002
    Messages:
    7,727
    Likes Received:
    873
    Faith:
    Baptist
    targus sez:
    Don't confuse the issue with facts; the left can't handle it!!:tongue3::laugh:
     
  9. alatide

    alatide New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2009
    Messages:
    974
    Likes Received:
    0
    The gag order was to stop them from disseminating information about what?
     
  10. carpro

    carpro Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2004
    Messages:
    25,823
    Likes Received:
    1,167
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Do you ever actually read anything at all? :BangHead:
     
Loading...